Frankenfish (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Mark A.Z. Dippé

Writers:

Simon Barrett (writer)
Scott Clevenger (writer)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

Welcome to the bottom of the food chain.

Plot:

When the body of a man is found completely destroyed in the swamps in Louisiana, the medical investigator...

Plot Keywords:

Hunter | Fish | Topless Woman | Animal Attack | Poacher

Cast

Tory Kittles	...	Sam Rivers
K.D. Aubert	...	Eliza
China Chow	...	Mary Callahan
Matthew Rauch	...	Dan
Donna Biscoe	...	Gloria Crankton
Tomas Arana	...	Jeff
Mark Boone Junior	...	Joseph
Reggie Lee	...	Anton
Noelle Evans	...	Bobbi
Richard Edson	...	Roland
Muse Watson	...	Elmer
Steve Ritzi	...	Pilot
Ron Gural	...	Coroner / Sheriff
Eugene Collier	...	John Crankton
Sean Patterson	...	Abrams

Also Known As:

Bayou (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/gore, language, sexual content and some drug use.

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Manitoba/Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Singapore:M18 | USA:R | UK:15 | Norway:15 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Alabama, USA

Company:

Bayou Films Inc.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Sheriff's jackets clearly shows a patch stating county, when in actuality, Louisiana is made up of Parishes.

Quotes:

Dan: He's talking to the dead fish...

Movie Connections:

References "Hee Haw" (1969)

By all rights SHOULD be the worst film ever...

It's the name that does it. Not only does it fail to make sense in context, it just plain doesn't work. If they really wanted to go with some kind of Franken-animal they could have at least picked something that started with 'st', like... a stoat. Frankenstoat. Studios, are you listening?

Anyway. Against all odds Frankenfish is actually no worse a giant mutant creature romp than, say, Anaconda - I'd even go so far as to say it could have made a passable cinema release. Everything (with the standard exception of logic) is handled competently, from the acting to the effects, and the tiny bayou community setting of the whole thing actually feels quite novel. It's not even entirely predictable, I guarantee you won't see at least one of the deaths coming...

It's also a fine film for playing Name The Actor They *Really* Wanted. Robert Downey Jr. and Michael Wincott are lock-ins, while Anaconda veteran Jon Voight would have been a fine choice to play the hunter (who is, as it turns out, the most rubbish hunter in the world). Come to think of it, if they'd asked Jon Voight he'd probably have said yes - he usually does.

Overall, it's a surprisingly not-awful piece of work, which still manages to be entertaining despite its not-awfulness. I wouldn't say I'd recommend it, exactly, but you could do worse. Sci-Fighter, for instance. Now THAT's genuinely awful film-making (and as such comes highly recommended).