User Reviews

Despite my middling grade of C, I was very impressed with "Bad Frank". After all, the film was very quickly made and only cost a paltry $80,000!! It is clearly a great example of getting a lot for very little…something many filmmakers could stand to learn.

When the film begins, Frank is a highly stressed but happy guy. He has a very beautiful wife, a job and life is good. However, there also are signs that Frank is on the edge…and he could easily be pushed over it. To make matters worse, he's been prescribed something, presumably for his anger, and the doctor's office is giving him crap about when he can see the doctor. He wants to see the doctor now…the receptionist isn't about to make an exception… even if he's now out of meds.

In the midst of this tense situation, Frank and a friend of his witness a brutal multiple murder committed by Frank's old 'buddies'….and soon they make it very clear that unless Frank keeps his mouth shut he's a dead man. And, to make this clear, they kidnap his innocent wife…sending Frank on a binge of ultra-violent behavior.

I liked the acting and direction in this picture. For $80,000, it should have been horrible but wasn't. The story was also reminiscent of "Taken" but had enough different about it to make it worth seeing… for some people. This is where the problem is…the film is incredibly violent and features a bit of sexual violence as well… and at times was hard to watch. Plus, unlike what I expected, by the end of the film Frank was pretty much a monster as well and it was hard to root for anyone. It's certainly not a picture to show your kids, your mother or Father O'Malley if he happens to stop by for a visit. But, in spite of this, I cannot help but admire the filmmakers for what they achieved.

"I thought you were some sort of monster or something, like f*cking Charlize Theron. But look at this. Nice house. Nice woman. You're not a big tough guy. You're a f*cking pussy."

Frank (Kevin Interdonato) seems like a dead-normal, hard-working guy who occasionally suffers from horrible headaches. But this Frank in "Bad Frank" is a labile person. "He was born bad" as someone says later in the film. Frank is an ex-marine who got into trouble due to his hot-tempered character and he's forced to end his military career. Apparently a course about "Anger management" was a necessity. But now Frank seems to be on the right path. A decent job, a handsome wife (Amanda Clayton), a cozy house and he stays away from people who could have a bad influence on him. A calmer and healthier life with alcohol being banned as well. And this could be accomplished with some medical supervision. frank keeps everything under control when he takes his medication on time. I found it strange however that he had problems with making an appointment when he notices that he's running out of pills. Apparently his medical and psychological condition isn't really clear to the attending doctor. Otherwise his case would be treated with high priority.

It all goes wrong again when his best friend Travis (Brandon Heitkamp) asks Frank to help him with a job. A job causing Frank to look an old acquaintance straight in the eye again. It's Mickey (Tom Sizemore), someone out of his dark past. The rest of the story isn't quite original and has been used repeatedly in films. What you get is a kidnap / revenge movie with Frank releasing his demons again. Demons that made a mess of his life. A violent life full of victims. Not only those who bumped into his muscular body, but also relatives who don't want anything to do with him anymore because of his aggressive behavior and use of alcoholic in the past.

Kevin Interdonato plays the tormented Frank perfectly. You just feel the oppressed rage and you know this uncontrollable aggression can be unleashed any moment. Unfortunately I have mixed feeling about "Bad Frank". There are parts which are excellent. But these are alternated with some weaker ones. I wasn't impressed by the emotional Frank. And to be honest, I thought the outcome during the job looked a little amateurish. So, at that moment, I really feared this would be nothing more than a pale and uninteresting B-movie. Everything changed the moment Frank starts to kick stand like a madman. An individual in a bar and Donny Shakes (Brian O'Halloran) experience this in a painful way.

Even Tom Sizemore surprised me as the psychopathic Mickey. The scene with him and Travis was the most entertaining and frightening part in this movie. A highlight full of pure rage and madness. The last time I saw Sizemore act, was in "Weaponized". But that was too horrendous for words. Sizemore seems to be in money problems, considering the number of post-productions he is currently working on. Unfortunately, this is followed by the weakest moment of the entire film: the conversation between Frank and Crystal Duro (Lynn Mancinelli). In my opinion this scene was way too long and largely unnecessary. In my view this was used as a filler and they could have shortened this part so the movie had a perfect total playing-time of 90 minutes.

"Bad frank" isn't really bad. But you can't really call it a top movie. It wouldn't be fair to compare it to a movie like "Taken" because there's a significant difference in budget. Though it's really suitable as a typical Saturday night movie.

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Worst movie I have ever seen!! Slow !! Terrible actors and the story was worse!!! Please never make a movie again. That was a waste of time and money ... the 1 dollar I spent a red box. I should've just lit the dollar on fire.

Bad Frank, this one starts off slow, however you soon understand the script, you can visualize what is next to happen, shame as the writers could of added more into it.

One area that they goofed up on was the racing scene in the bar, Bonecrusher is a Kiwi racehorse what won the 1986 AJC Derby, why they used an old race call is beyond me, however my ear's opened up, plus woke me up from a slight sleep at this point in time.

From this point on the action of the movie is predictable.

Rating this movie would be in the mid 3's, the story line from start to finish is easy to see where it is heading.

What prompted me to track this film down and have a peek was the paradox presented by the mainstream reviews.

They were skewed in every possible direction.

BAD FRANK was clearly one of those rare films you either loved or hated, but no middle ground.

If you loved it, you loved the performances, the quirky dialog, the oddball plot development and direction, and the whole "film noire" mood (even though it was shot in color). And also it was nominated for a whole bunch of awards I had never heard of, even won a couple.

However, if you hated it -- and a lot of mainstream reviewers did in fact hate it -- you saw it as a poor knockoff to Taken; you saw it as failing to deliver on its "action" promise; and you saw it as overlong, jumbled, and generally disappointing.

In other words, for a reviewer, this was a challenge. I had to find out for myself.

And I did.

Here is my take on BAD FRANK.

1. Critics who saw it as a cheap knockoff of Taken did not understand the film. In spite of the story and the casting, even in spite of the PR package put out by the distributors, this is much more a film that belongs in the class of "artistic horror" than an action story.

TAKEN, with Liam Neeson (the first one, not the horrible sequels), was a jewel of writing and direction. Action, reaction. Action, reaction. A straight arc from beginning to end. BAD FRANK benefits from, and yet also suffers from, Tony Germinario's intention -- as both writer and director -- to break as many scriptwriting conventions as he possibly can. And he does it just to show he can. (Like George Carlin's gag -- "why does a dog lick his privates? CAUSE HE CAN!")

2. When judged in its proper class -- as idiosyncratic horror, like LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT -- it is pretty interesting, and stays with you after the credits roll, which is saying something. Which is not to say it is perfect, or even close to perfect, or even that it could get a table close to perfect at a fancy restaurant. It is overlong, some of the dialog is terrible -- and Tony Germinario may possibly have seen one too many Tarantino movies, and it shows.

But the acting is astounding. Interdonato never breaks character even for a split second, and Sizemore matches him pound for pound in the race to see who is crazier and deserves to have PLANTERS stamped on his butt.

3. The ending (which I will NOT give away) shows, once again, Tony Germinario's obsession with breaking rules. Remember the happy ending in Taken? Well, this ain't Taken. Not even close! Once again, a wackjob ending like this one is the hallmark, the fingerprint, of a horror film, not an action film.

Summary: as a first film for a fledgling writer/director correctly niched in its class -- horror -- it is interesting and memorable. As pure entertainment competing for your attention with the other 10,000 movies available in theatres and on the net, it is perhaps less of a sure thing. But still memorable.

Recommended? Yes, m'am.

First off the only reason why I even watched this because Renee Lawless was suppose to be in this. Imagine my disappointment when she never even showed up on the screen. But I was willing to let that slide and try to give it a chance very predictable.

Terrible acting, terrible script, terrible directing. Joke of a movie.

Once the story is underway, not a bad film. Recommend you check it out,

This is one of those stories about a man trying to escape his demons, but through circumstances outside his control he gets pulled back down and must embrace those demons to seek revenge. Nothing wrong with the formula but everything wrong with the editing, performances and script.

Wooden, cliched, too little action for too much hollow dialogue.

Slow to get to an ending we more or less know. Sizemore must be on hard times if the $80k includes his salary.

I often rate the movies after I ask myself: Did I get, what I expected?

This, I did not expect, not at all - especially as I read the other reviews beforehand. You have to know: This is not an action flick, this is a thriller. The story is supposed to develop slowly - and it works just fine. If you're getting sick of all the mainstream-superhero-movies with chewed-up one-liners, if you're getting sick of watching a plothole-riddled movie with an average cut-length of 1.5 seconds, Bad Frank is what you have to watch.

Well-written story with a little room left for your imagination, well-written characters with thought-off backstorys, good use of very little music, good acting! Is the story new? No, but the story of Taken, as it is wrongfully compared to in the other reviews, isn't either.

And please don't forget the small budget. Writer and director Tony Germinario and the great cast made nearly every penny work. I'm pleased, that there are people left in the business, who can make a really decent movie without any explosion...

While most of you have never heard of the comic book Character Rank Zerox. (Sex android with an uncontrollable temper) Bad Frank bought back fond memories. I loved this film.. as much as John Wick ? Or more ? Frank taking everything so much more Personal. I want to see Bad Sonny err.. (I'm Sonny) I mean Bad Frank deux

I don't know why this movie got such a poor rating. I mean, it won and was nominated for numerous US film awards. Also, reading the reviews it's as if many hasn't even bothered to watch it. Competitor rating? Well, envy is understandable; this is an excellent piece of work.

Director producer Tony Germinario manages to fool us with what appears as a predictable action crime movie. But it's one character arc in particular that delivers a nose punch well worth experiencing; it's truly a film that stays with you. Don't miss it!

For a low budget movie, I was impressed. Just a few characters and few sets, but well directed. A few twists I didn't expect and a not a usual ending.

Its slow to start but picks up to say the least. Lots of action.

For a low budget film I was quite impressed. What struck me the most is I have known people like Frank. It creeped me out because this movie reflects reality more than many people realize. The story itself not so much but the personality and sheer aggression of Frank is something I have seen and it is not pretty. It struck a chord in me me more than others. It is how aggressive and yet calm and collective Frank gets after exploding in rage. Kevin Interdenato did a fantastic job portraying the character. I highly recommend this movie for anyone who likes low budget films. I am not sure why some gave it such a low rating it was far better than I expected.