Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
April. 01,1974 RDr Simon Helder, sentenced to an insane asylum for crimes against humanity, recognises its director as the brilliant Baron Frankenstein, the man whose work he had been trying to emulate before his imprisonment. Frankenstein utilises Helder's medical knowledge for a project he has been working on for some time. He is assembling a man from vital organs extracted from various inmates in the asylum. And the Baron will resort to murder to acquire the perfect specimens for his most ambitious project ever.
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Reviews
Wonderful character development!
Very best movie i ever watch
So much average
Great Film overall
Acceptable Frankenstein entry with colorful photography ,thrilling as well as chilling musical score by James Bernard and Peter Cushing , as ever , does a top notch performance in the role which made him a terror movie legend , it still stands as one of the great screen acting . Last of the Terence Fisher/Frankenstein films , this one deals with the Baron hiding out in a psychiatric institution and he , then , joins forces with another scientist who becomes his assistant . The latter is a young doctor who helped by a mortuary attendant and Bodysnatcher (Patrick Troughton ) took corpses from graveyards until being detained , accused of sorcery and condemned . In the insane asylum resides hidden the notorious Doctor Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) who along with inmate Dr. Simon Helder (Shane Briant) , being attended by the dumb-mute Sarah (Madeline Smith , this character was first offered to Caroline Munro) carry out creepy experiments . Victor and Simon set about constructing a man using body parts they acquire for the purpose , including the brain of a prestigious scholar . Both of whom create a weird being and bring it to life . As his brain came from a genius and his body came from a killer and his soul came from hell . After successfully re-animating him , things go wrong . Frankenstein whose experimentation with creation of life becomes an obsession , but his creature behaves not as he intended . The classic actor of horror movies named Peter Cushing is terrific as Frankenstein , giving a portentous performance , as always . Atmospheric , slick terror film , creaky at times but it's still impressive . This exciting film packs thrills , chills , eerie events and lots of gore and guts . In fact , real human blood was used in this film , blood that could no longer be used for transfusions was sourced from the blood bank and used in the film, including in the notorious scene where Victor Frankenstein uses his teeth to clamp the artery of the monster . Intelligent and twisted screenplay has nice plot , including fine production design , enhancing its atmosphere thanks to its brilliant color by expert cameraman Brian Probyn . The script by Anthony Hinds or John Elder was revised several times to avoid repeating any elements from the Universal Frankenstein series , as part of this effort, new monster make-up had to be devised especially for this film . After the successful Universal Pictures as ¨House of Frankestein¨, ¨Bride of Frankestein¨ , ¨Son of Frankestein¨, ¨Frankestein meet the wolf man¨ and ¨ The Zingara and the monsters¨ , Frankestein personage was left until Hammer Productions took him and produced ¨The curse of Frankenstein¨ ; although Universal threatened a lawsuit if Hammer copied any elements from the classic version . Followed by six sequels as ¨Revenge of Frankestein¨ by Fisher , ¨Evil of Frankestein¨ by Freddie Francis , Frankestein created woman¨ by Fisher , ¨Frankestein must be destroyed¨ by Fisher , ¨The horror of Frankestein¨ by Jimmy Sangster and this ¨Frankestein and the monster from hell¨ by Fisher ; all of them starred by Peter Cushing and one by Ralph Bates , besides similar artistic and technician team as the cameraman Jack Asher , Production designer Bernad Robinson , musician James Bernard and make-up by Philip Leaky .This ¨Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell¨ results to be the last of Hammer's Frankenstein movies , being compellingly directed by Terence Fisher , though inferior to previous installments . This was the final film directed by Terence Fisher before his death on June 18, 1980 at the age of 76 . It was also the 29th and final Hammer film that he directed . The first was ¨The last page¨ (1952), he subsequently shot classic horror films as ¨Dracula¨, ¨Dracula , prince of darkness¨ , ¨The brides of Dracula¨ , ¨The mummy¨ , ¨Phantom of opera¨, ¨The Gorgon¨ , ¨The devil rides out¨ and many others . Rating : Passable terror film , 6/10 ; essential and indispensable watching for Peter Cushing fans .
This one is the last of the Hammer Frankenstein movies, released largely to indifference; it can now be seen to be a more traditional style Hammer Horror than the company had been churning out of late. Terence Fisher returned to the genre after an absence of four years to deliver an engaging, if occasionally pedestrian film, and this was to prove his final outing as a director.Peter Cushing, after having been ousted for a younger model in the form of Ralph Bates in The Horror Of Frankenstien (1970) a cheap-looking and badly scripted reboot, is back for one last turn as the Baron, looking considerably older and thinner. but giving his performance the same old gusto and attention to detail. Here Frankenstein is hiding away in an asylum, holding the institute's director in his power (due to a clever plot reveal towards the end) and free to continue his nefarious experiments.He's joined by a young doctor who's banged up on exactly the same charges as Frankenstein - sorcery for grave-robbing and corpse-stitching, and it isn't long before they are rummaging up a new creation. Shayne Briant's look is somewhat reminiscent of Percy Shelly, and he gives a good performance amidst a welter of stalwart British character actors. Madeline Smith is also a very engaging "Angel"; Dave Prowse, who'd played him in Horror, does much better as the monster here - shows you what a good director can do with actors - but it's Cushing's movie of course. Pity about monster's look - a cheapy hirsute approach that's almost as bad as Evil Of Frankenstein's monster.The blue-ray edition is surprisingly eye-popping (literally) in its gore quotient, the only previous DVD and video editions have been severely cut in the UK. I have seen this movie on television, video and DVD, and only the arterial vein in the mouth scene had made it past the censor - Cushing's idea, I believe. Here we have a more gruesome brain op sequence and the restored version of the monster being torn to pieces, as well as random shots of hanging victims, etc. But over all this drifts a spirit of subtle black humour, which is far more likable than the Carry On-style stuff in Horror Of Frankenstein.The last Frankenstein hurrah for Hammer then, and overall it's a decent effort. Personally I still prefer Curse, Revenge, Created Woman and Must Be Destroyed.
By 1973 Hammer's Dr Frankenstein series had pretty much run it's course. Peter Cushing had given the character everything he could give by this time, and looked rather tired and frail in this particular interpretation of Dr. F. Terrence Fisher was back at the helm and brought back the look and feel of Hammer to the film and did the best that could be done with a rather tired screenplay. Madeline Smith was nicely cast as a mute girl. Shane Bryant was a forgettable juvenile lead. David Prowse played the monster for a second time, and became the only actor to do so, he was also 3 years away from playing Darth Vader. The action takes place at an asylum but the script is a rework of the previous five films and Cushing had to use every trick in his actor's reportorial to keep things moving . There is a bit more gore in this film but that was part of the horror of the 70's. I will give makeup artist Eddie Knight credit for creating a really horrific looking monster."Monster from Hell" isn't terrible but it's not real good either. The story is watchable and if you are a Peter Cushing fan, which I am,or you wish to view the complete Hammer Frankenstein series you will definitely want to watch "Monster from Hell" but if you are just wanting to see a chilling horror movie some dark and stormy midnight, you will probably want to find something else. RIP Hammer Frankenstein.
Hammer Studios did 7 Frankenstein films from the late 50s to early 70s:1. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957); 2. The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958); 3. The Evil of Frankenstein (1964); 4. Frankenstein Created Woman (1967); 5. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969); 6. The Horror of Frankenstein (1970); and 7. Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973). Peter Cushing played Baron Frankenstein in every one of these except "The Horror of Frankenstein." The reason being "Horror" was a remake of the original story and they needed a much younger actor to play the role; they chose Ralph Bates (who superbly played the love-to-hate OTT satanist in "Taste the Blood of Dracula," released the same year).Anyway, "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell" was the last hurrah for the series. THE PLOT: A young doctor, Simon Helder (Shane Briant), is fascinated by Frankenstein's works and gets sentenced to an asylum for practicing sorcery. There he meets the thought-to-be-dead Baron Frankenstein, now going by the name Dr. Victor (Cushing), and they team-up to carry on his gruesome work, creating -- you guessed it -- a monster from hell! This is an unmistakable Hammer film and solid Gothic chiller, but it's held back by a simplistic plot and dreary ambiance. The story lacks the fascinating and innovative approach of the two previous films, "Frankenstein Created Woman" and "Frankenstein Must be Destroyed," which represent the best of the series. Furthermore, the setting of the story is too one-dimensional, basically being limited to the asylum, which adds to the dreariness. Speaking of which, the film lacks the bright colors usually associated with Hammer horror. The drab palate of the cinematography does up the ante of the Gothic atmosphere, but it'll likely disappoint those expecting the lushness of typical Hammer horror.On the plus side, the creature looks seriously bestial and is formidable, played by David Prowse, aka Darth Vader of the first three Star Wars flicks. The monster also evokes a good amount of pathos. Another plus is the beautiful Madeline Smith of "Live and Let Die" fame, who plays the Baron's mute assistant, Sarah.The story is basically a drama with horror trappings so those expecting the overt horror antics of most slasher films will be let down.BOTTOM LINE: "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell" is a solid Hammer horror film and a fine way to end their Frankenstein series, but it lacks the color and pizazz of the previous two installments. As such, it's overall mediocre.The film runs 99 minutes and was shot at EMI Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England.GRADE: C+