Haunted Summer ** (1988, Philip Anglim, Laura Dern, Alice Krige, Eric Stoltz, Alex Winter) – Classic Movie Review 12,579

Ivan Passer’s 1988 biopic Haunted Summer stars Philip Anglim, Laura Dern, Alice Krige, Eric Stoltz and Alex Winter in a film version of Anne Edwards’s novel about Mary Shelley’s invention of Frankenstein in 1810s Italy.

Director Ivan Passer’s 1988 historical biographical drama film Haunted Summer stars Philip Anglim, Laura Dern, Alice Krige, Eric Stoltz, and Alex Winter.

It is a bloodless and uninterestingly cast version of Anne Edwards’s novel about Mary Shelley’s invention of Frankenstein in 1810s Italy while staying in a houseful of intellectuals.

Lewis John Carlino’s screenplay is to blame. There is no reason why this good, if often told yarn should be so low on imagination and conviction. Gorgeous production designs by Stephen Grimes, costumes by Gabriella Pescucci and photography by Giuseppe Rotunno score far higher than Alice Krige as Mary Shelley, Eric Stolz as her husband Shelley, Laura Dern as her half-sister, Philip Anglim as Byron, or Alex Winter as Dr John Polidori.

Ken Russell’s same-themed, simultaneously filmed Gothic is far more exciting.

Also in the cast are Peter Berling, and Don Hodson.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,579

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