No one has a clearer vision of the film he wants to create than director James Anthony Bickert. His latest film, the amusingly titled Frankenstein Created Bikers, is a throwback to the drive-in, grindhouse horror films of the 1970s. The film blends horror and biker genres of that age together in a bloody, exploitation fueled blender turned up to maximum pulverize. Disjointed and manic, the film is slyly hilarious and in your face. Love it or hate it, the film is exactly what it intend to be without apology or compromise. For many, this will be exactly why you enjoy the film, cherishing each gory, goofy moment. For others, it may be too much of a good thing, a hard pill to swallow. Either way, it is difficult to disrespect what Bickert was aiming for. Regardless, the only thing Frankenstein Created Bikers needs is more Bigfoot. Or, perhaps, more Ellie Church. Or, better yet, both! Yeah, now you’re talking.
Ellie Church, as Candy full of double-entendre dialog and little wardrobe, is one of the film’s stars as her adventure intersects, dissects and interjects the larger story. Her character starts out teaming up with a group of fellow teens as they first encounter a deadly, hungry Bigfoot creature, then the titular Bikers hunting the creature. Church’s Candy then finds herself in the hands of Frankenstein and his minion, Klaus, played by Laurence R. Harvey. You know that cannot be a good thing. And, for Candy, it certainly is not. Somehow, from there, things get worse for Candy as she desperately tries to escape. Ellie Church is a real trouper for all the gore and torture she has to endure for her scene in Frankenstein Create Bikers. If there is a modern scream queen, her name is Ellie Church.
Jett Bryant stars as the leader of the biker gang known as the Impalers resurrected by Frankenstein (Paul McComiskey as Dr. Marco) to hunt Cryptozoic creatures for their blood to keep their undead lives in control. Or something like that, it gets hazy. Jett embodies that biker visual, style and attitude necessary for a film such as Frankenstein Created Bikers. He swaggers through the film, chewing the scenery with an appropriate combination confidence and cynicism. And a whole lot of “I don’t give a f@ck.” I would imagine Al Adamson would have adored Jett.
Along for the fun is horror fem fatale Tristan Risk as Val, a foul mouthed, mad-as-hell rival to the Impalers who gives the film its most obvious visual references to Russ Reyer and Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! She is basically out to kill everyone with everything she has be that guns, grenades, kung-fu moves or a killer look. She is deadly unlike any other in the most spectacular, over-the-top way possible. It’s an amazing, memorable performance. Val is a love letter to classic 60s and 70s characters such as Varla, Biker Babes, Naked Angels, Hell’s Belles, you name it. Risk embraces the role without any hesitation or inhibition and her efforts pay off. There’s no soon forgetting Val and her on-screen antics.
To enjoy Frankenstein Created Bikers properly and thoroughly requires a certain sensibility, an appreciation for the films it emulates and references and a pretty broad sense of humor. If you’re easily offended, this ain’t the film for you. No way. No how. This film is distasteful, insulting and often repugnant. That’s right. It’s a indisputable cult film full of random nudity, gratuitous gore and sketchy characters. It has no care for introspective themes, respect for human decency or interest in anything coherent. It’s is everything a grindhouse movie fan is starving for. Shot on 35mm in the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, the film is a frenzy of ideas, some fully realize, some half-baked, all done with an affection for the genre and the tone. For those who this film will appeal to, it is an instant cherished classic.
Frankenstein Created Bikers, which played at the GenreBlast Film Festival in Virginia this past Summer is a one-of-a-kind hoot. Even as confusing as the film may be, a film with a clearer vision of its own intentions there has rarely been. Director James Anthony Bickert has crafted his signature film. It is all him. The cast is amazing featuring Ellie Church, Triskan Risk, and Madeline Brumby (as Jett’s love interest Edna Marco) earning the titles scream queen with relish and unrestrained endurance, especially Church. Jett Bryant needs to make more films staring as…himself. Just do it, man. If anything, the film is a victim of its own imagination, it tries to be too much. There is a lot going on and not all of it makes a whole lot of sense. But, that is exactly what it needs to be. For those who understand that, Frankenstein Created Bikers is made for you – seek it out and catch it as soon as possible. The film is made for midnight showing, to be viewed with friends. It’s a taste well worth acquiring. And a hell of a great time.
Frankenstein Created Bikers 
(3.5 / 5)
Doc a lifelong fan of horror films, sci-fi flicks and monster movies first discovering Universal Monsters and Planet of the Apes as a young child in the 1970's searching out every issue of Famous Monster of Filmland (and, later, Fangoria). Favorite films include Jaws, The Car, The Birds, The Tingler, Vampire Circus and The Exorcist. Still a huge fan of horror films from the 70s, Doc continues consuming horror films to this day for the site, for the podcasts and for the fun of it all.
