Review: FRANKENSTEIN CREATED BIKERS is Midnight Movie Madness

A few months ago, we premiered the trailer for Frankenstein Created Bikers, which had a ton of hits from fans of the upcoming film. Well, I've finally seen it, and I've got to admit that it's even more insane than the trailer lets on. Shot on 35mm after a successful Kickstarter campaign, Frankenstein is a love letter to exploitation films carved into a bullet --- and sent skyrocketing into the air after several beers on the Fourth of July at a biker rally.

This exploitation-sci-fi-cult-horror film extravaganza was directed by James Bickert (it's a sequel of sorts to his flick Dear God No!) and stars Tristan Risk, Ellie Church, Jett Bryant, Laurence R. Harvey, and a cast of others. The above actors are the best of the bunch in the enormous ensemble cast of bodies, bikers, assassins, cops, and more. I had a bit of trouble keeping track of everyone, but I know that in a film like this, most characters are there only to serve as fodder for bullets and explosives. A LOT of people get gleefully blown up in this film.

There are tons of references to other movies, which is always a fun easter egg hunt for movie fans. I saw some nods to The Brain That Wouldn't Die, Saw, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, and Bride of Frankenstein among many. I can only assume that in addition to being a Walter Hill fan, that Bickert is a fan of Russ Meyer movies --- there's lots of gratuitous topless nudity. There's also about 1,093 different terms for female genitalia --- most of which are used as insults. It makes one wonder if Bickert kept a spreadsheet of terms to add to whenever he felt inspired to come up with new and gross descriptors. 

Of course, this film isn't made for those easily offended. It's made for the midnight crowd where anything and everything goes. It's hard to write about the movie without putting in spoilers, so let's just say that this is the type of film where a severed head wants to please her man. There's also incest, eye socket fu (to quote Joe Bob Briggs AND describe this in a more "tasteful" manner), and tons of violence. The FX from Cory Poucher and Blake Myers, along with additional work by Marcus Koch and Shane Morton is pretty great at times --- there are buckets of blood galore, decapitations, and the undead biker gang is a cool concept.

I haven't even begun to talk about the plot yet, but does it matter? Here goes: the Impalers, an undead biker gang led by Jett (Jett Bryant), are hunting a murderous sasquatch and a bunch of other people. Why? Because they've been brought back to life by Dr. Marcos (the "Frankenstein" of the title) and his partner Klaus (Laurence R. Harvey) are witholding the magical serum they need to "live." Essentially, they're being forced to go on a killing spree, but it seems like second nature to them anyway. They capture Ellie Church's character, and a whole other subplot is just her trying to escape Klaus in his dungeon of terror. And then there's Val --- Tristan Risk inhabiting a southern-fried, maniacal version of Tura Satana's Varla in Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! She's over-the-top, bold-as-hell, and has a hilarious penchant for blowing people up, which I'll watch any day. 

Basically, what ensues is utter lunacy and mostly everyone dies. Frankenstein Created Bikers is a film best watched in an altered state at a late hour under celebratory circumstances. Mix those elements together, and you'll have a hell of a good time.