It's the story of Igor (voiced by John Cusack) who's sick of being a lowly lab assistant and wants to become a scientist himself. When his cruel master, Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese), kicks the bucket a week before the annual Evil Science Fair, Igor finally gets his chance, aided by his friends, a brain in a jar (Sean Hayes) and a suicidal bunny (Steve Buscemi). Unfortunately, their invention, the Bride of Frankenstein-ish Eva (Molly Shannon), turns out to be a kind, gentle creature, hardly the thing that will win awards at the Evil Science Fair. At least at first. Then things go awry.

Igor -- directed by Anthony Leondis and written by Chris McKenna -- gently spoofs classic horror films, though the gags don't always work. But Igor lobs enough successful puns (including one involving Inside the Actor's Studio) to make it work.

The film's look recalls Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride in its dark environments. That's a good thing. Not so good are the Louis Prima tunes on the soundtrack, which don't fit in with the "feel" of Igor. Oh well, you have to at least respect a film with a character named Dr. Schadenfreude.

Though Igor is hit and miss, it's worth catching for the often-hilarious vocal deliveries of its cast, which includes Jay Leno, Eddie Lizzard, Arsenio Hall, Christian Slater and Jennifer Coolidge. The filmmakers probably should have waited another few weeks to release Igor. It's a great film to get into the Halloween spirit a few weeks before the

Igor is rated PG for some thematic elements, scary images, action and mild language. Running time: 87 minutes. Macsimum rating: 7 out of 10. You can check out the film's trailer on the [url=http://www.apple.com/trailers/]QuickTime movie trailer site[/url].