Disturbing yet enthralling

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

If ever a film was aptly named, it's MONSTROSITY. An even more fitting title would be "Frankenstein For Dummies."The plot: Dr. Otto Frank (Get it?) conducts experiments on the recently deceased (he robs graves) and hopes to eventually transplant a human brain. He uses nuclear fission in a cyclotron to stimulate brain cells. (Don't ask.) Funding his work is a rich, unscrupulous old woman who hopes to have her brain put into what she calls "a fresh young live body." To ensure that a body is available, the old woman hires three live-in servants: Bea from England, Nina from Austria, and Anita from Mexico. Not one of them speaks in a convincing accent. In fact, Bea's often slips into Australian.Dr. Frank has so far placed a dog's brain into a human skull, resulting in a hairy, befanged monstrosity that helps him nab the corpses. Things get even weirder when Frank puts a cat's brain into Anita's skull (without leaving any surgical scars). I can't help but envision that tiny cat's brain rolling and bouncing around inside the woman's head—unless Dr. Frank secured it with bungee cords or something.The end of the film is even more ludicrous: in a fit of conscience, Dr. Frank puts the old lady's brain into a cat. (The size issue is never addressed here either.) The cat gets back at him by locking Frank in his lab after setting off a self-destruct mechanism. Dr. Frank is fried to death and the house goes up in a ball of fire. The cat gets away, though, presumably to set up a sequel that (mercifully) never materialized.Item: The self-destruct mechanism involves the triggering of a nuclear explosion. How does a civilian procure a nuclear reactor? And where, exactly, would they keep it?Item: There's a sub-plot (one of several) involving a newly-deceased young woman who Dr. Frank has revived to zombie status. (As the old lady puts it, "She has no brain; that could be useful.") She wanders about the lab, eventually finding her way outside, where the above- mentioned monstrosity rips her to pieces. There is no reason for this sub-plot except to kill time. And yet, the movie still clocks in at a mere 64 minutes.Item: Bea and Nina decide to escape together. They run downstairs to the first floor, where the front door is presumably located. But instead of leaving that way, they proceed to the basement, where they encounter the old lady. Frightened, they run back up to the first floor, again eschewing the front door, and make their way upstairs, where the old lady locks them in a bedroom.Item: In most of these films, the narrator appears during the first couple of minutes to set up the plot, then goes away. Sometimes, he'll reappear at the end with a "See, I told you so" type of closing. But in this film, the narrator never goes away; he's always there, telling us what a character feels or how Dr. Frank's work is coming along or how misanthropic the old lady is. For the first fifteen or so minutes, there's virtually no dialogue—just the narrator. That he speaks in a "Big Brother is watching" tone just makes it more obtrusive. And it's just plain creepy when Nina models underwear for the old lady as the narrator lewdly describes the latter's thoughts: "She is so nicely rounded in places men like." I'll need a hot shower now!

"The Atomic Brain" aka "Monstrosity" - the film itself is a monstrosity but it is, just barely, watchable. There are many other sci-fi horror films to watch other than this one. I acquired it in the Sci-Fi Classics 50-Films Pack and I ended up watching it one night.It's sorta Frankenstein-ish but not nearly as good though. Yet still, this film, Atomic Brain, is kinda enjoyable in it's way. Where else can you see a cat with a woman's brain and a woman with a cat's brain? The awful acting had me laughing, poking fun at it, so I guess I kinda enjoyed it - I didn't turn it off nor did I push the fast-forward button so that says something about my enjoyment of watching the film.4/10

This movie tells the story of a woman who wants to have her brain transplanted into a young woman. She'll get rich doing so, or maybe she was already rich, but I don't care. It's just really dumb. I admitted to being entertained when they showed Anita with a cat brain. Later, they put the cat's brain in the woman. If Anita could only meow, then why can't she talk as a cat? I don't know, it makes no sense. The worst thing about this is the unbelievably stupid ending. It features the woman in the cat's body with the narrator saying that she'll have her revenge one day.Yes, this is setting up the idea that a cat with a woman's brain will stalk a lady. That is very stupid and nothing comes of it. I didn't even know which character was the husband or the mad scientist. It's ridiculous to see her win as the cat. The rest of the film is just pacing to fill up a very short running time. It might be good for some laughs, but it's completely unoriginal. *

I watch bad movies with my nephew every few months. When I was growing up, you could watch these hideously awful movies on Saturday afternoons or late night. Now you have to buy them, but I digress.This was a wonderfully awful movie. The character, Bea's, accent is worth the admission price alone. At one point, her co-prisoner says, "Oh you shouldn't talk like that." I said, "Yes, because your accent is awful." But the movie itself has a interesting twist at the end, which actually was creative, albeit unbelievable. As someone else said, it's good in a Mystery Science Theatre 3000 way, but if you have someone to watch it with, watch the un-dubbed version. It's soo easy to make fun of yourself. Enjoy!!!