Roger Corman, who is not known for producing quality films for most of his career, must have been saving up all his creative forces for this entertaining bit of science fiction-horror. Buchanan (John Hurt) is a scientist in 2031 who is working on a new weapon for the government that implodes the enemy and makes them disappear, usually through a time slip into another era. Buchanan himself is sucked back to 1831, and meets Dr. Frankenstein (Raul Julia), who is mourning the loss of his younger brother. The brother was killed by the Monster (Nick Brimble), but an innocent girl is blamed and plans are made to execute her. Buchanan discovers Mary (Bridget Fonda) and enlists her aid in helping the girl while trying to stop the Monster from killing again.
John Hurt is a revelation here in a leading role. Stripped of the weird characters he was too often asked to play, he comes across as completely normal and very good. Bridget Fonda is also good as Mary Godwin. Raul Julia makes a great Dr. Frankenstein, eschewing the hysterics of past mad doctors. Michael Hutchence as Shelley and Jason Patric as Byron are rather funny as the nineteenth century's versions of free loving hippies. Their scenes are too few. This was Corman's first directorial effort in twenty some odd years, but he has a very good touch with the camera. The special effects, especially involving the time slip cloud, are impressive without seeming cheap. The ending does get a little too allegorical, and the effects inside the future city's brain do look cheap, but the whole film was a positive experience. Frankenstein's Monster is one of the scariest of all time. The stitched eyeballs are gross, and his appearance is genuinely hideous. He can speak, no mumbling and shuffling here. I would put this film on par with "Time After Time" and "Somewhere in Time," two other films that used their stories to compel the time travel plot forward, not a bunch of special effects. I recommend "Frankenstein Unbound" to both science fiction and horror fans.
