Frankenstein (2004 film)
Frankenstein is a 2004 American horror television film produced and directed by Marcus Nispel and written by John Shiban. It is a loose adaptation of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", and stars Parker Posey as a police detective on the trail of a serial killer, played by Thomas Kretschmann, in present-day New Orleans. The detective is aided in her search by one of the killer's creations, played by Vincent Perez. Adam Goldberg, Ivana Miličević and Michael Madsen co-star. It was produced by Lions Gate Films, and aired on the USA Network on October 10, 2004 . The film was intended as the pilot for an ongoing series, and was initially based on Dean Koontz's version of "Frankenstein". USA and the producers decided that major changes must be made and Koontz had no interest in the show in its new form. He withdrew from association with it and turned to the task of realizing the original concept of the book form. Subsequently, executive producer Martin Scorsese also expressed desire to exit the series. Koontz later developed the concept into a series of five novels: "Frankenstein: Prodigal Son", "Frankenstein: City of Night", "Frankenstein: Dead and Alive", "Frankenstein : Lost Souls", and "Frankenstein: The Dead Town". Plot. This is not a direct adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus", but a postmodern gothic reinvention set in present-day New Orleans. It recasts the doctor as the villain and the creature as a tragic hero determined to stop him; the primary action involves two police detectives (Parker Posey and Adam Goldberg) who enlist the aid of the creature ("Deucalion" in this version) to stop a serial killer who is one of Victor's later creations. Reception. Sloan Freer of "Radio Times" gave the film two  stars and said "though the ultra-stylised visuals create an air of brooding menace, they can't compensate for the patchy plotting or the abrupt and hugely unsatisfying finale." Brian Lowry of "Variety" praised the look saying "Even working on a made-for-TV budget, Nispel provides plenty of striking imagery, giving the film a truly distinctive look" and added "while the climax is somewhat disappointing, the brisk story until then leaves ample room to speculate as to where a series would go with Helios’ creations roaming the Earth."