Day 27: Flesh for Frankenstein (1973)

“Flesh for Frankenstein” is a sexualized gothic horror/comedic satire from the mind of Paul Morrissey and produced by none other than pop art icon Andy Warhol. With such names attached, you know exactly what your in for- schlock at such an absurd level that it becomes a unique bit of art all on its own.

What we have in “Flesh for Frankenstein” is a goofy, poorly acted, gore fest that is at all times laughable and at all times on purpose. For the calculated nuttiness delivers an underlining message about the absurdity of sexual indulgence, though this moral tale is almost completely lost amongst the over the top gore and general campiness.

In “Flesh for Frankenstein” Doctor von Frankenstein (Udo Kier) lives in his castle with his sister/wife and their two children. Unhappy in his incestuous marriage and desiring something more, the mad doctor creates two perfect specimen, a man and woman, out of spare body parts and plans to have them procreate in an attempt to give him children of a new super race. But when the “Frankencouple” won’t copulate, Frankenstein must find a way to get the results he requires and it will be up to a randy farmer, who is the doctor’s wife’s/sister’s lover, to stop him.

Without a doubt, this is one of the goofiest movies I’ve ever seen. Though its purpose is for satire, it blows right past the concept and lives happily in the world of campy sensationalism to such an extreme degree that the film was shown in 3D upon its initial release so body parts could fly out at the audience. But beyond the simple technical cliches found in the picture, we have actor Udo Kier, who’s Doctor von Frankenstein is a thick accented German embodying something between a Looney Tunes character and “The Room’s” Tommy Wiseau. At one point, Kier’s Frankenstein holds up a recently disembodied head and says to his assistant, “Otto! Look at it! Finally we find the perfect head with the perfect nasum (nose) for my male zombie!” with such devote seriousness that its hard to think that the actors were actually in on the “this is a satire” joke.

“Flesh for Frankenstein” is a campy sexcapade of a film that is too goofy to taken seriously but too serious to be considered a true satire. A delightful experience if you love bad cinema, this film would definitely make the “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ gentlemen squeal with glee.

For more on “Flesh for Frankenstein,” check out Criterion’s page here.

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