When the opportunity presented itself to review Frankenhood, let's just say that I wasn't necessarily chomping at the bit. I may not be the biggest fan of b-movie material, but I'd like to think that I hold a certain affinity for smaller budget productions that make something of themselves. I look for the good in things and will even sit through the bad in order to find it. Unfortunately after sitting through Frankenhood, it became quite evident that there simply was nothing redeeming to be found what-so-ever. This direct-to-DVD "comedy" by Lionsgate misses all of the marks. It's not funny or charming, the writing is abysmal and the acting is even more atrocious. I may not have had the highest of expectations for Frankenhood going in, but I can honestly say that the movie failed to hit what little potential it had to begin with.

As the name would imply, Frankenhood is a spin on the tale of Frankenstein, except, you know...from the 'hood. The story centers on the misadventures of Motown (DeRay Davis) and Darius (Jasper Redd) as they dream big and look forward to a 3-on-3 basketball tournament with a $25,000 prize. They have big plans for that money and it's their ticket out of their crappy graveyard shift job at the morgue. The only problem with their plan is the fact that they suck at basketball and nobody that's good wants to play with them. What ever are they going to do?

Lucky for Motown and Darius one of their morgue co-workers, Franklin (Charles Q. Murphy), also happens to be something of a mad scientist. He has tried year after year to bring the dead back to life but he hasn't yielded any results, at least not until he coerces our protagonists into helping. By hooking a behemoth body up to the battery of Motown's Gremlin, Franklin successfully reanimates the corpse. There are a few amusing bits as this Frankenstein-like monster, nicknamed Frankie (Bob Sapp), gets acquainted with his new un-life. His introduction is full of lame fart jokes, pot smoking, and fried chicken eating as Motown and Darius try to figure out what to do with him. Eventually they get it into their thick skulls that they can use Frankie on the basketball court. Of course they have to teach the undead how to play basketball first which is no small feat, I assure you.

That's the basic set up of this film, and for what it's worth that plot could have been entertaining in the right hands. Think Weekend at Bernies mixed with Young Frankenstein and, well, a basketball movie. Unfortunately Frankenhood fails on just about every front. As a movie it simply does not present a cohesive story. The plot jumps back and forth between random events and doesn't even attempt to tie them together. The characters will be in the club one minute, in the morgue the next, and then on the court. There's no rhyme or reason for most of their conversations or comments and the script is just full of dead space where absolutely nothing happens.

Making matters worse is the fact that the characters are just unlikable, unmotivated, and painfully one-dimensional. None of the actors here stand out and they handle the material with the lackluster energy it deserved. With that in mind, why even bother throwing in some of the characters such as Tammy (Drew Sidora)? She's supposed to be a love interest for Motown, but since you can't really like the guy and they have no chemistry it feels really out of place. Despite these crippling flaws, probably the biggest sore spot in Frankenhood is the fact that it's just not funny.

This movie is being billed as a comedy, but there are hardly any laughs to be had. DeRay Davis and Jasper Redd are paired well enough together, but their performances are deadpan and most of their jokes either whiff or feel forced and awkward. Other jokes, scenes, and one-liners from the rest of the cast come across as dry, go on for too long, or are simply offensive. Take Sapp's portrayal of Frankie as an example. Rather than capture the spirit of Frankenstein he smiles a simpleton's grin, behaves childhood, and comes across as mentally handicapped. Using a retard as your main source for laughs is just never a good idea and Frankenhood demonstrates why. It's simply not funny and borders on insulting.

One has to wonder why Frankenhood was even made. It fails on just about every front and throws its lot in as of the worst films released on DVD this year. Everything from the script right down to the acting is tepid. Consider it a big skip it.

Frankenhood is presented on DVD with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio and has been enhanced for anamorphic playback. As you'd expect from a low budget effort such as this, the picture quality isn't exactly gleaming. While colors appear natural and there's a fine enough level of detail, the overall image is soft and full of grain. Some scenes are captured much better than others, but if you're looking at an indoors location or a darkly lit scene then it's going to be considerably worse.

The audio presentation in Frankenhood comes in the form of 2.0 and 5.1 English tracks with optional subtitles. While the 5.1 surround track is obviously the more appealing of the two, it's actually not much better than the 2.0. Many scenes simply do not use the rear channels, and even when the film does utilize the full soundstage it's rather underwhelming. The overall presentation is just flat, though thanks to the obnoxious soundtrack and lackluster acting I suppose that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Nearly nine minutes worth of deleted scenes are included on this disc. Would you believe they are every bit as lame as the final product itself? Not a single deleted scene here is worth watching, though I will say that some bits about the Kernel Cocoa cereal were kind of amusing. It's completely out of context with the film, which is probably why I actually enjoyed that scene. Along the same lines, there's a behind the scenes featurette with interviews with the cast that was actually more entertaining than the film was. The crew really seemed to enjoy working on the feature for some reason, and they shared some of the good times. Nothing major was offered up here, but it was a lighthearted view of the production of the movie.

Frankenhood is a complete waste of time and from the ground up this project was a flawed creation. The script, the acting, the jokes, the directing, and the editing were all done so poorly that there's virtually no entertainment value to extract from watching this movie. Sure a couple of lines here and there may elicit a chuckle, but the three laughable jokes you'll find in the hour and a half film simply aren't worth investing the time. Decent extra features and a mediocre presentation aside, this one is a skip it from beginning to end.

Check out more of my reviews here. Head on over to my anime blog as well for random musings and reviews of anime, manga, and stuff from Japan!