Depraved

2019 American horror film
  • David Call
  • Joshua Leonard
  • Alex Breaux
  • Ana Kayne
  • Maria Dizzia
  • Chloe Levine
  • Owen Campbell
  • Addison Timlin
CinematographyJames Siewert
Chris SkotchdopoleEdited byLarry FessendenMusic byWill Bates
Production
companies
Glass Eye Pix
Forager Films
Distributed byIFC Midnight
Release date
  • March 20, 2019 (2019-03-20) (What The Fest?)
Running time
114 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Depraved is a 2019 American horror film written and directed by Larry Fessenden and starring David Call and Joshua Leonard.[1] It is a modern version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.[2][3]

Premise

Suffering from PTSD following his stint as a United States Army medic, Henry now works feverishly in his Brooklyn laboratory to forget the deaths he witnessed overseas by creating life in the form of a man cobbled together from body parts. After procuring a brain from an unwitting victim, his creation, Adam, is born. But it soon seems that giving life to Adam was the easy part; teaching him how to live in a dark and troubled world may be perilous.

Cast

  • David Call as Henry
  • Joshua Leonard as Polidori
  • Alex Breaux as Adam
  • Ana Kayne as Liz
  • Maria Dizzia as Georgina
  • Chloe Levine as Lucy
  • Owen Campbell as Alex
  • Addison Timlin as Shelley
  • Chris O'Connor as Mr. Beaufort
  • Alice Barrett as Mrs. Beaufort
  • Andrew Lasky as Sam the Bartender
  • Jack Fessenden as Eddie
  • James Tam as Mr. Zhang
  • Zilong Zee as Mr. Ling
  • Noah Le Gros as Soldier Adam
  • John Speredakos as Officer Spano
  • Hope Blackstock as Officer Flores
  • Stormi Maya as Strip Club Bartender
  • Rev Love as Stripper #1
  • Hannah Townsend as Stripper #2

Release

Depraved made its worldwide debut on March 20, 2019 at the IFC Center's What The Fest!? Film Festival.[4] On May 13 that same year, it was announced that IFC Midnight acquired American distribution rights to the film.[5]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Depraved holds an approval rating of 84% based on 57 reviews, with an average score of 7.1/10. The site's consensus reads: "A thrillingly effective update on a classic story, Depraved jolts a familiar monster back to life with a potent blend of timely themes and old-school chills."[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally positive reviews".[7]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire graded the film a B.[8] Anya Stanley of Dread Central awarded the film three stars out of five.[9] Katie Rife of The A.V. Club awarded the film a B− and found that Fessenden did something interesting with what is "the umpteenth adaptation of a centuries-old classic."[10] Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times called it Fessenden's "most coherent and visually polished work to date" while still finding it a little "overlong."[11] TheWrap's William Bibbiani was more critical saying "as a whole it contributes little to the 'Frankenstein' tradition, other than a reminder that this has all been done before, mostly better."[12]

References

  1. ^ Navarro, Meagan (3 June 2019). "[Overlook Review] 'Depraved' Marks a Return to Form for Larry Fessenden". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  2. ^ Jaime Grijalba Gomez (22 March 2019). "What The Fest?! 2019 Review: Depraved Fittingly Pays Tribute to Frankenstein". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  3. ^ Trussell, Jacob (23 March 2019). "'Depraved' Review: Larry Fessenden's 'Frankenstein on the Hudson'". Film School Rejects. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  4. ^ Pedersen, Erik (6 March 2019). "Larry Fessenden's 'Depraved' To Open IFC Center's What The Fest!?". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  5. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (15 May 2019). "Cannes: IFC Midnight Nabs Frankenstein Adaptation 'Depraved' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Depraved". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Depraved reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  8. ^ Ehrlich, David (19 March 2019). "'Depraved' Review: Larry Fessenden's No-Budget Delight Brings Frankenstein into the 21st Century". IndieWire. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  9. ^ Stanley, Anya (1 April 2019). "What The Fest 2019: Depraved Review – A Quiet Meditation on Bad Dads and Hubris". Dread Central. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  10. ^ Rife, Katie (September 12, 2019). "Dr. Frankenstein is reborn as a Brooklyn body snatcher in Larry Fessenden's Depraved". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  11. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (September 12, 2019). "'Depraved' Review: Busy Body (Parts)". The New York Times. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  12. ^ Bibbiani, William (September 12, 2019). "'Depraved' Film Review: Larry Fessenden's Latest Is a Mumblecore Frankenstein". TheWrap. Retrieved September 21, 2019.

External links