A Carnivorous Fish's Night Out On the Bayou
Added 4/11/2009
Frankenfish: Movie Review
Grade: C+
Like so many other films these days (Snakehead Terror, Sea Beast), Frankenfish is a mutated man-eating fish SciFi channel movie. This film was actually based, along with Snakehead Terror, on the snakehead fish incident in a pond in Maryland. The snakehead fish is real, and it is voracious, but the snakehead creatures in Frankenfish aren't.
The movie's plot, as interesting as it sounds, looks great at first glance: A hunter who would like to hunt and kill something really dangerous and life-threatening breeds three genetically altered snakehead fish in Asia, and has ships to him in America. But when they are being shipped down the Louisiana bayou, something goes wrong, and they escape the ship, loose deep inside the bayou...Now a medical examiner investigating the bodies the fish leave behind is trapped in a small houseboat community, and must, along with the community, find a way out.
The plot had so much going for it, yet the movie plods along for most of its gory and blood-soaked 84 minute running-time. The acting is quite good though, and is much better than normal SciFi channel fare.
The things that set the movie the movie back are A) the clichéd characters, B) at times, the horrible and silly dialogue, and, C) you don't really see the fish. I know a horror technique is to keep the monster in shadow, but in this case, the fish is almost never seen, not till the last part of the movie. And after I expected much more, the conclusion felt rushed, and wasn't worth the time I spent wondering what the fish looked like. Seriously, the cover of the DVD shows more of the fish than most of the actual movie!
But Frankenfish still tries to be good and scary, and at times the creepy level is pretty high. The CGI effects are that bad either, and for a SciFi film that's a plus. I just want to see the fish! More man-eating fishes, please!!!
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REALLY ENTERTAINING
Added 10/4/2008
FRANKINFISH
Have you ever seen a movie and thought "man that was a far out there concept", and then thought "hey that was actually entertaining". Well if you have ever thought that then chances are you were talking about this flick right here. This movie despite having a funny yet horrible name is just one of those fun out there type of creature features in the same vein as "Lake Placid" [the first one]. I remember seeing this movie the first time on the Sci-Fi Channel and thinking man I have to buy that.
The story is your basic loose genetically enhanced animal that tends to have a taste for human flesh. To be more precise it is about a medical researcher and a biologist investigating a situation out in Louisiana after a body turns up mutilated in the swamp. Now as much as that sounds like Lake Placid it really is not, but this could have been a better sequel perhaps then the one that came out. Once out in the swamp they meet the people who live on the water, and well the fish start their attack at that point. From that point on this movie kicks into high gear and I really mean that, the kills in this movie are awesome. There is even a point in this movie that I think is the best death by shot gun ever, or at least the most surprising. This is not just one of those over the top b movies it actually makes sense at times, even the acting is for the most part up to par.
Tory Kittles is pretty good in the lead role and makes for a believable hero, though at times he seems to be trying to hard. K.D. Aubert is just as good as the "please rescue me" damsel in distress, but she is quick to turn on her actual boyfriend for the lead. China Chow is on the same level as the previous two as she gives a pretty decent performance, and is involved in one of the best moments of the movie. Matthew Rauch is by far the most entertaining actor on the film as the egotistical cowardly city boy, he is actually the most believable person on the entire film. His character is hilarious and is really how most people would react, absolutely the MVP of the movie. Donna Biscoe, Tomas Arana, Mark Boone Junior, Reggie Lee all deliver great performances as well.
Writers Scott Clevenger, Simon Barrett came up with a really entertaining film and director Mark A.Z. Dippé really delivered with their idea and crafted a pretty entertaining movie. This is not a classic film but it is a cool movie, it is full of cheese and is a true b movie but it is a good flick. Watch this on a Saturday afternoon or night and grab the pizza.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Eat your heart out
Added 8/8/2008
Oh man, where do I begin....this is a fun, stupid horror movie. Some of the effects are cheesy compared to what we get now in cheesy horror movies. The acting is actually pretty good. There are a few over the top characters, but what horror movie could survive without those?
The movie takes place in the deep Louisiana swamp where people tether their houseboats and live amongst the gators and mosquitoes. Far, far away from civilization. They live off the swamp.
A boat has run aground due to its crew being eaten by the genetically modified fish. The reason why they were being taken to a particular area will reveal itself towards the middle of the movie. The fish are very hungry for gators and humans. They also become increasingly smart too.
It's like the Anaconda movies - entertaining.
Unless you're a big fan of cheesy horror movies, I would recommend renting this one in lieu of buying it.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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AWESOMELY CHEESY
Added 6/28/2008
First off let me say I love cheesy low budget horror movies that don't take themselves too seriously. In that respect this movie is great! Blood, Gore, Mutated fish, a crazy Vietnam vet, a drunken guy that steals the show (probably the best performance in a horror movie ever), and even some random boob action! A must have for low budget horror movie fans!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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The rules of bad horror movies as they apply to Frankenfish:
Added 1/22/2008
1) If you're alone, and miles from civilization, don't stick your finger and/or hand in murky water.
2) When going on a trip into the remote wilderness, there must be at least one hot woman (China Chow) on the trip.
2a) There is an inverse relationship between how bad the movie is, and how much clothing the woman has on.
2b) If the movie is very bad, then 2a) holds true...unless the hottie quotient is raised (which happens in Frankenfish)
2c) If the movie is REALLY bad, then there needs to be obvious T&A.
3) B-Actors may live, but it's a guarantee that C-Actors are going to die horrible, contrived deaths.
4) Whoever acts like a dick is going to learn a vicious lesson about karma.
5) At least on of the disgusting death scenes has to be completely hilarious (happened over 5 times in Frankenfish).
6) Bad acting is a must
7) There needs to be at least one "c'mon!" moment, in which the characters do something so stupid that the viewers are forced to yell out in protest.
8) The bad guy will die by his own actions.
9) There has to be one unexplained, completely forced hookup of some kind. (Honestly, if a mutant fish was killing everyone around you, would you be thinking about sex?)
10) The climax has to be the most ridiculous moment imagineable, with some convoluted, idiotic plan to defeat the bad guy. And despite the fact that the plan has roughly the same odds as virginal teenager at a hillbilly wedding, the plan inevitably succeeds.
All that said, this movie is hilariously good. It wasn't supposed to be funny, but it is. A few of the actors aren't bad, and the CGI is not as horrible as I would have expected.
If you want to sit around with friends and crack jokes at the expense of a bad horror movie, look no further than Frankenfish.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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A Carnivorous Fish's Night Out On the Bayou
Added 4/11/2009
Frankenfish: Movie Review
Grade: C+
Like so many other films these days (Snakehead Terror, Sea Beast), Frankenfish is a mutated man-eating fish SciFi channel movie. This film was actually based, along with Snakehead Terror, on the snakehead fish incident in a pond in Maryland. The snakehead fish is real, and it is voracious, but the snakehead creatures in Frankenfish aren't.
The movie's plot, as interesting as it sounds, looks great at first glance: A hunter who would like to hunt and kill something really dangerous and life-threatening breeds three genetically altered snakehead fish in Asia, and has ships to him in America. But when they are being shipped down the Louisiana bayou, something goes wrong, and they escape the ship, loose deep inside the bayou...Now a medical examiner investigating the bodies the fish leave behind is trapped in a small houseboat community, and must, along with the community, find a way out.
The plot had so much going for it, yet the movie plods along for most of its gory and blood-soaked 84 minute running-time. The acting is quite good though, and is much better than normal SciFi channel fare.
The things that set the movie the movie back are A) the clichéd characters, B) at times, the horrible and silly dialogue, and, C) you don't really see the fish. I know a horror technique is to keep the monster in shadow, but in this case, the fish is almost never seen, not till the last part of the movie. And after I expected much more, the conclusion felt rushed, and wasn't worth the time I spent wondering what the fish looked like. Seriously, the cover of the DVD shows more of the fish than most of the actual movie!
But Frankenfish still tries to be good and scary, and at times the creepy level is pretty high. The CGI effects are that bad either, and for a SciFi film that's a plus. I just want to see the fish! More man-eating fishes, please!!!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
REALLY ENTERTAINING
Added 10/4/2008
FRANKINFISH
Have you ever seen a movie and thought "man that was a far out there concept", and then thought "hey that was actually entertaining". Well if you have ever thought that then chances are you were talking about this flick right here. This movie despite having a funny yet horrible name is just one of those fun out there type of creature features in the same vein as "Lake Placid" [the first one]. I remember seeing this movie the first time on the Sci-Fi Channel and thinking man I have to buy that.
The story is your basic loose genetically enhanced animal that tends to have a taste for human flesh. To be more precise it is about a medical researcher and a biologist investigating a situation out in Louisiana after a body turns up mutilated in the swamp. Now as much as that sounds like Lake Placid it really is not, but this could have been a better sequel perhaps then the one that came out. Once out in the swamp they meet the people who live on the water, and well the fish start their attack at that point. From that point on this movie kicks into high gear and I really mean that, the kills in this movie are awesome. There is even a point in this movie that I think is the best death by shot gun ever, or at least the most surprising. This is not just one of those over the top b movies it actually makes sense at times, even the acting is for the most part up to par.
Tory Kittles is pretty good in the lead role and makes for a believable hero, though at times he seems to be trying to hard. K.D. Aubert is just as good as the "please rescue me" damsel in distress, but she is quick to turn on her actual boyfriend for the lead. China Chow is on the same level as the previous two as she gives a pretty decent performance, and is involved in one of the best moments of the movie. Matthew Rauch is by far the most entertaining actor on the film as the egotistical cowardly city boy, he is actually the most believable person on the entire film. His character is hilarious and is really how most people would react, absolutely the MVP of the movie. Donna Biscoe, Tomas Arana, Mark Boone Junior, Reggie Lee all deliver great performances as well.
Writers Scott Clevenger, Simon Barrett came up with a really entertaining film and director Mark A.Z. Dippé really delivered with their idea and crafted a pretty entertaining movie. This is not a classic film but it is a cool movie, it is full of cheese and is a true b movie but it is a good flick. Watch this on a Saturday afternoon or night and grab the pizza.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Eat your heart out
Added 8/8/2008
Oh man, where do I begin....this is a fun, stupid horror movie. Some of the effects are cheesy compared to what we get now in cheesy horror movies. The acting is actually pretty good. There are a few over the top characters, but what horror movie could survive without those?
The movie takes place in the deep Louisiana swamp where people tether their houseboats and live amongst the gators and mosquitoes. Far, far away from civilization. They live off the swamp.
A boat has run aground due to its crew being eaten by the genetically modified fish. The reason why they were being taken to a particular area will reveal itself towards the middle of the movie. The fish are very hungry for gators and humans. They also become increasingly smart too.
It's like the Anaconda movies - entertaining.
Unless you're a big fan of cheesy horror movies, I would recommend renting this one in lieu of buying it.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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