 | MOVIE DETAILS • Name: Depraved • Year: 2019 • Country: USA • Director: Larry Fessenden • Main cast: David Call, Joshua Leonard, Alex Breaux • Runtime: 114 minutes • Production company: Glass Eye Pix, Forager Films • TRAILER
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First of all, who is more depraved? The monster or the man? A creature brought to a life that never asked, in an environment where it will never be accepted, like a huge conscious guinea pig, alone without knowing the meaning of love? Or the man, playing god, forcing the boundaries of science, leaving a heavy load as morals are aside, and creating a life that doesn’t know how to deal with? Mary Shelley nailed the dilemma when she was only 18 years old back in 1818 in her immortal classic Frankenstein, “The Modern Prometheus”. And like many of these classic gothic novels, her creature has had a million of adaptations and offshoots.
Depraved (2019) is one of the new ones, a nowadays version of the tale centering a war veteran surgeon working on a project where provided of body parts by his weird boss is building a new creature, a puzzle made of flesh that won’t easily understand what is to be alive. This time, the excuse of the experiment is to provide a new chance to war injured or deceased soldiers, and, of course, also money. It is a constant, in the current times, every movie analyzing the nature of human beings have to contemplate the element of greed.
The problem with this movie written and directed by Larry Fessenden is that, besides the fact that the action is situated in Brooklyn, New York, in the present time, Depraved (2019) doesn’t bring much innovation. The character’s description is pretty weak, which is a crime for a movie based on human relationships. The narrative is dynamic enough, so the movie doesn’t get boring despite its almost 2 hours of running time, but although entertaining the watching is hollow. Alex Breaux outstands playing the monster, this time called Adam, a very physical performance done in a pretty menacing way thanks to his cold ice looks and his tall physique.
Larry Fessenden has been one of the most prolific filmmakers in the current world of horror. He’s been part of the production department of over 70 titles, director of a big handful of short films and features like The Last Winter (2006), Wendigo (2001) or Habit (1995) which he also writes, and involved in almost every technical position in the making of a film you can imagine, from assistant director to sound department, from cinematographer to editor. As an actor, he’s been part of almost a hundred productions being You’re Next (2011), Southbound (2015), Carnage Park (2016) or We Are Still Here (2015) only some of the most recent ones. With that background it is not a surprise how easily he solves the progression of the movie providing it of the appropriate pace, despite the weakness of the screenplay. Probably Depraved (2019) is not a must-see title, but it still is an entertaining product to spend a fun time.
RATE: 6/10
IMDB URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt7946216
