Director Ken Russell applies his trademark excess to this surreal, experimental examination of the creative dementia which shaped Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein. The story is embellished from events which allegedly took place at the Swiss villa of Lord Byron (Gabriel Byrne) on the night of June 16, 1816. Byron's guests include poet Percy Shelley (Julian Sands) and his future wife Mary (Natasha Richardson); Mary's half-sister Claire (Myriam Cyr) and Byron's leech-happy personal physician Dr. John Polidori (Timothy Spall). Byron promises them a night of horror like only a mad poet can deliver � after partaking of laudanum and other hallucinogens, the guests tell ghost stories while exploring the dark corridors of his home. From here, Russell dives headlong into madness, discarding plot structure in favor of fever-dream setpieces in which the guests confront living manifestations of their own fears and insecurities � creative, mortal and sexual, among others. The raging Romantics are also given to lengthy discourse on the nature of fear and the fine line between creative genius and insanity; by the film's end, viewers may find themselves wondering the same thing about the director. Those who may prefer a more subdued speculation on the same theme should seek out Ivan Passer's Haunted Summer. � Cavett Binion

This film comes only with a standard, non-anamorphic full-screen picture format (1.33:1 aspect ratio) and one English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround audio track. There are no special or bonus features whatsoever. Picture quality is typical of a film shot during the 1980s and transferred later to a single-layered DVD: it's of approximately VHS or television quality, clarity, detail, and sharpness, as is the barely stereophonic audio that does little justice to action scenes or special effects. Many of the scenes are rather dim or dark, with fuzzy shadows and a blurry background. The plastic DVD case includes a one-sheet glossy insert containing a chapter index. � Craig Chalquist

Last screenshot rocks Thanks!