The Horror of Frankenstein

"On the sudden death of his father, young Victor Frankenstein (Ralph Bates) inherits his title, his castle and his comely and very accommodating housemaid, Alys (Kate O'Mara). Victor decides to leave college and return home, where he can carry out scientific experiments of which his teachers would never approve. With the aid of a grave-robber, Victor collects the parts he requires for his greatest experiment yet - the construction of a human being! As the struggle to keep his experiments secret becomes harder, the body count mounts up - and the monster is not yet complete!"

After bumping off his father for his inheritance the gifted Victor Frankenstein goes off to study at college. He returns to his castle with a friend to spend the summer holidays continuing his experiments, having conducted some tests he sets his mind on his great ambition which is to re-animate a human being.

Needing something to work with Victor pays for the help of the local grave robber who supplies him with plenty of spare parts, with which he goes to work, sawing and sewing like a man possessed.

All this activity doesn't go unnoticed and to keep his work secret he has to dispose of a few people along the way, which can be very handy when you are looking for a hand or whatnot for your work. Waste not want not... The body count starts to rise especially when his creation turns out to be a complete homicidal maniac, intent on killing anyone he meets.

Ralph Bates makes a pretty good Victor Frankenstein, being about as cold and uncaring as you would expect him to be. David Prowse though, doesn't make the best Frankenstein monster but even so this is a fun and amusing little romp with a good dose of black humour and witty dialogue as well as some enjoyable macabre moments along the way.

As the storyline is only loosely based on the famous novel don't go expecting Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, this is purely a Hammer with that special low budget flavour that Hammer Productions did so well. It's a bit like a Pot Noodle in this respect which is very much loved by its fans, Hammer movies that is, not necessarily Pot Noodle. Enjoy!

Reviewed: 10/11/06

Hammer Film Productions (Wikipedia)

• Movies

Frankenstein (1931)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)

• Television

Tales of Frankenstein (1958) (Hammer TV Pilot, 30 Mins)