To many, this tale of literary legends spending time together for a decadent summer of lustful pleasure which results in a drug induced nightmare will seem a pretentious bore. That is until they see Ken Russell's very bizarre rendition of the same story, "Gothic". Yes, these five characters seem a bit odd, and considering the fact that one of them wrote Frankenstein and was a woman, they really are. The sexual games they play with each other are at first amusing and eventually cruel, particularly the bi-sexual Philip Anglim (Alex Winter ) who cruelly taunts his male lover while seducing the horny love starved Laura Dern.
While the lovely Alice Krige is perfectly acceptable as the intelligent Mary Shelley, Eric Stoltz seems miscast as Lord Byron Shelley. His Michael Jackson like voice makes the character's romantic appeal very doubtful. The dour Anglim, hosting the summer party, is certainly not an ideal host, his anti-women theories eye-raising and his appeal to either sex iffy save the self-loathing twosome he manages to bed here. The horror sequences are certainly worth a few good nightmares. Physical production is certainly lovely, but truly ugly characters dominate the tale.
While the lovely Alice Krige is perfectly acceptable as the intelligent Mary Shelley, Eric Stoltz seems miscast as Lord Byron Shelley. His Michael Jackson like voice makes the character's romantic appeal very doubtful. The dour Anglim, hosting the summer party, is certainly not an ideal host, his anti-women theories eye-raising and his appeal to either sex iffy save the self-loathing twosome he manages to bed here. The horror sequences are certainly worth a few good nightmares. Physical production is certainly lovely, but truly ugly characters dominate the tale.