VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN

James McAvoy as Victor Frankenstein 

VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN (2015). Director: Paul McGuigan.

"An exquisite show of depraved lunacy."

Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy) rescues a hunchbacked clown (Daniel Radcliffe) from the circus where he is horribly mistreated, discovers his hump is merely a fluid sac and removes it for him, christens him "Igor" after a missing friend, and importunes the grateful fellow, who also has much medical and scientific knowledge, to help him in his research into cheating death. However, a pious Scotland Yard inspector, Turpin (Andrew Scott), is determined to find out what the two are up to and stop them from their unholy mission. Victor Frankenstein hasn't much to do with Mary Shelley's novel -- no surprise there -- but it is very well-acted by all, including Jessica Brown Findlay as Lorelei, another circus performer whose life is saved by Igor (but who doesn't really fit in smoothly with the rest of the movie); Freddie Foxe as the wealthy and sinister Finnegan, who supposedly wants to help Victor; and Charles Dance [Alien 3] as Victor's highly disapproving father. Victor Frankenstein is entertaining and fairly unpredictable for most of its length, but the final quarter, with the birth of monster Prometheus (Spencer Wilding), is very busy but not as thrilling as intended because of insufficient direction and editing. The scenic design is striking, however, and there's a nice enough throbbing score by Craig Armstrong with some very pretty end title music. McAvoy [X-Men: First Class] continues the recent tradition of rather handsome Victor Frankensteins, such as Harry Treadaway of Penny Dreadful.

Verdict: Doesn't quite cross over into camp. **1/2.