Frankenstein's Höllenmonster (1974)

The Film

By the 1970s, the writing was on the wall for Hammer studios, their traditional horror-fare was no longer popular with the audiences - the Americans was wanted realistic and modern while the Europeans wanted sexy and gory. While Hammer brought Dracula kicking and screaming into 20th century England with Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1974) they wisely kept the Frankenstein franchise in 19th century Middle-Europe.

We open on a dark night, a lonely man (Patrick Troughton) is robbing graves. Escaping from a police officer he takes the body to a doctor in a hidden laboratory, but this is not Frankenstein, rather, one of his followers, Doctor Simon Helder (Shane Briant). The policeman tracks down the bodysnatcher, who leads him to Helder. The doctor is duly tried and sentenced to five years in an insane asylum, where the late Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) had once been committed, but it is not long before we find the Baron is alive and well and up to his old tricks, working with impunity inside the asylum. Hiring Helder as his assistant, the Baron, calling himself Doctor Karl Victor, is once again attempting to assemble a creature (David Prowse) from the parts of his patients, trying to create a being with the body of a strongman, the brain of a genius and the hands of a craftsman. He succeeds, at first; but the creature is confused and soon becomes violent...

While the Dracula films were becoming stale and repetitive, with the inimitable count making mere cameo appearances, the Frankenstein films became better towards the end of their run, Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell topping even the previous entry, Frankenstein Must be Destroyed (1969) for its brutality, gore and oppressively dark atmosphere.

Directing his first film since Frankenstein Must be Destroyed (1969), and working on his final film, Terence Fisher gives a typically strong directorial turn to proceedings. A mix of lengthy tracking shots and even a few zooms generally works well, although his zoom in on Peter Cushing in his first scene is cut short far too quickly to a very jarring side shot. Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell is unquestionably the darkest film in the series, the majority of the film playing out in the dark, dank interior of the asylum - the impressive set design and lighting captures this well, the climactic storm looks fantastic. In a last ditch attempt to retain viewers, Hammer upped the gore quota considerably, and the film includes brain and eyeball surgery and well as some stolen hands and a brutal hanging. Fortunately the special effects team managed to keep the gore on the realistic side, and indeed much of it is disturbingly realistic. Strangely, despite the prevalence of nudity in Hammer's vampire films, there is no skin on display in this picture. James Bernard gives another standout score, especially evocative is his repetition of a violin theme played by one of the inmates who would unwillingly donate his brain to the creation. The design of the creature has often been criticized, but although the heavy facial make-up gives David Prowse little chance to act facially, he still gets a chance to show off some good body acting - the move away from the pure humanoid creations in the previous two films, to a true monster design gives this film a new edge, and also allows for a plausibly scary climax.

Peter Cushing gives yet another stand-out performance as Victor Frankenstein. Looking very gaunt and tired, he still displays an impressive range including a dramatic fight with his creation. Again he manages to avoid pushing the Baron into the realms of comic book evil, and instead remains calm, chilling and calculated. Shane Briant gives a very good performance, at times playing like a younger version of the Baron himself, although with the handicap of a conscience. David Prowse doesn't get much chance to show off any facial acting, under a large layer of make-up, but he does a nice turn with some body acting, and his impressive frame brings credence to his violent nature. The rest of the cast, from the sadistic gaolers to the mute assistant girl known as Angel play their parts well.

Often overlooked in favour of Frankenstein Must be Destroyed (1969), and the impressive first entry, Curse of Frankenstein (1957); Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell is actually a very good film with a great script, a wonderfully dark, atmospheric setting, boosted by a good performance by all concerned. A fitting end to the series and a recommended film that would stand quite well if watched alone.

In brief:

The DVD

Summary

• This strong, often overlooked film ranks as the one of the best in the series with a clever script, good cast, and solid production.
  

• A good DVD release and best way to see the uncut print of the film. Sadly lacking the audio commentary from the US disc or the booklet from the UK disc, and most of the other extras are of no use to non-German speakers. Recommended at the moment, but likely to be bettered in future UK or US releases.
  

Links

• IMDB entry

• DVD Rewind DVD version comparasons.

• See the rest of the films in the Hammer Frankenstein Series and find more Frankenstein Films.

• Find more films by Hammer Studios.

• Find our reviews of other films directed by Terence Fisher, or starring Peter Cushing.

• For explanations of technical terms, see the DVD Dictionary.

All text in this review written by Timothy Young - 30th January 2006 - UK DVD comparison added September 2006.
Text from this review not to be used without authorization.

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