One of the most exciting aspects of genre film is its ability to reinvent itself no matter how stale the trope or subgenre. All it takes is a fresh perspective, new voice, or a visionary to show that even centuries old stories can be hacked up and stitched back together to breath new life into it. Take Mary Shelley’s now 200-year-old Frankenstein, a classic novel that’s received nearly two centuries worth of adaptations in television, film, and stage plays. You’d think there’d be nothing left to say, but of course, that’s not true. Filmmaker Larry Fessenden returns to the director’s chair to show there’s still a wealth of existential terror and emotional devastation still left to mine from Shelley’s story.
Known for indie horror faves like Wendigo, Habit, Beneath, and The Last Winter, Fessenden has shifted focus from directing to producing and mentoring new rising talent in the indie scene in recent years. He’s become a bit of a character actor, as well, and proven a knack for writing horror games (Until Dawn). Depraved marks his first feature length film in six years, one in which he directed, edited, produced, and wrote. He pays his respects to Shelley while reconfiguring her story into something that’s wholly his vision.
Henry (David Call), a PTSD suffering field surgeon with lofty ambitions has successfully reanimated a new man, Adam (Alex Breaux), using assembled parts from various bodies brought to him by his business financier and old college friend Polidori (Joshua Leonard). Henry keeps Adam in isolation as he spends all hours retraining Adam how to speak, regain motor control, puzzle solving, ping pong playing, and all of the various basic life skills someone Adam’s size and age should have. There’s a sincerity to this strange bonding that takes precedence over the first half, but Adam soon learns enough to begin questioning his own existence and loneliness while his two fathers- Henry and Polidori- clash over two drastically different parenting styles. That the mounting tension between the three escalates into violence should surprise no one.
Depraved works like a master class in DIY horror filmmaking. Fessenden has always been able to create heady, emotionally centered horror on a show string budget, and this is still the case here. And yet it’s a gorgeous film that looks grander in scale than it is. The title cards, the psychedelic imagery that show off Adam’s synapses firing or drugs entering his veins, and a third act homage to Universal’s classic monster make for interesting visual choices that adds to this love letter to Frankenstein. This is Fessenden’s Frankenstein, not just in how he narratively stitches pieces of these characters’ stories together but in his visual approach, too.
It’s his most ambitious film yet, and it shows. The downside is that it overstays its welcome a bit in the final act; namely in a climactic sequence that feels jarringly wedged in and a bit lost in focus. Depraved also does a massive disservice to its female lead in Liz (Ana Kayne), Henry’s estranged lover and Adam sympathizer. We never get to know her beyond her willingness to show up and subject herself to questionable acts in the name of love- one that’s mentioned but never earned.
Fessenden’s latest is at its strongest when it’s exploring the very fragile relationship between Adam and Henry, and the crash course Henry and Polidori provide Adam on what it means to be human. Breaux’s take on the character is pitch perfect. Every emotion he experiences for the first time is keenly felt, and his journey will break your heart. This is also to say that it’s a deliberately paced story that won’t be for everyone, one that does run a bit overlong. If you’re in the mood for something more DIY, experimental, and introspective with gravitas, then this is a must.
