Review of The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) by Whit W — 28 Mar 2012

Peter Cushing is awesome. He brings so much to the roles that he plays in the Hammer films. He's got such a presence on-screen. He brings an intelligence to the roles he plays as Dr. Frankenstein. His character is also charming, calculating, and athletic. He plays Frankenstein with a very short fuse and a great deal of victimization. Throughout this movie, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to pull for him or dislike him but either way, his Frankenstein is the best representation of the questionably intentioned doctor that's been done by any studio.

"The Evil of Frankenstein" doesn't work for me quite as well as Hammer Horror's "The Revenge of Frankenstein". TEoF starts out with a great scene of Cushing's Dr. F'Stein cutting the heart out of a still warm cadaver. This dissection is performed during the opening credits. We see Cushing grunting and pulling at the corpse, trying to remove the heart from its chest. This opening scene is so effective because Cushing is so good. It's definitely a gruesome scene, but there is absolutely no gore to be found. We don't see the results of Frankenstein's autopsy until he drops the heart into a tub of liquid. This is another great example of how well these old movies incite a horrific reaction without the mindless gore.

This movie actually has a monster, but I was underwhelmed with it. Mostly because the makeup job was so bad. The monster was a sympathetic enough character and I liked that this took a different direction with Cushing actually losing control of the situation and the monster itself. The castle and the town of Karlsbaad were satisfying creations and they brought a feel of authenticity to the whole affair.

The ending is all too abrupt, which seems to be the norm for Hammer. The ending wasn't bad, it was just too sudden.