Flesh for Frankenstein (3-D Presentation)

Dir. Paul Morrissey. 1974, 95 mins. U.S./U.K. With Joe Dallesandro, Udo Kier, Arno Jürging, Monique van Vooren. In tribute to the passing of New York indie trailblazer Paul Morrissey, we present this sleazy seventies cult favorite, an inspired horror send-up that balances the ridiculous and sublime while fully exploiting the suitability of 3-D for in-your-face effects. Deranged Serbian scientist Baron von Frankenstein (Kier), with the help of his bizarre assistant, Otto (Jürging), embarks on the creation of a new master race, of which he will be the leader. His plan involves constructing and animating two perfect “zombies” from an assemblage of ideal body parts, then leading them to mate. Things go according to plan with the female specimen, but the male version proves trickier. Filmed in “Space-Vision 3-D” and shot at Cinecittá studios simultaneously with the director’s Dracula (1974),the film was released as Andy Warhol’s Flesh for Frankenstein, as many of Morrissey’s 1970s films were—tethering the protégé’s work to The Factory despite diminishing involvement from Warhol himself.