31 Nights of Halloween Horror part 3 - The Revenge of Frankenstein

The Revenge of Frankenstein

90 minutes

Dir. Terence Fisher

1958/UK

This month’s obligatory Halloween Hammer film is the classic The Revenge of Frankenstein.  The direct sequel to Hammer’s entry way in becoming the masters of horror, The Curse of Frankenstein.  When it comes to picking a favorite monster, whether it be the Frankenstein monster, Dracula, Freddy, Michael Myers, etc.  I have to go with the good old doctor himself, Dr. Frankenstein.  I prefer this crazed obsessed man over the creature he creates, perhaps because I can see a little of myself in his madness.  My favorite actor who portrays the doctor, is Peter Cushing.  Don’t get me wrong Colin Clive was great in the original and Bride, but Peter Cushing is clearly a man with one objective on his mind.  So, let’s take a look at the Hammer classic, The Revenge of Frankenstein.

The movie pics up right where the first one left off, Dr. Frankenstein is on his way to the guillotine to have his head removed for the crimes committed by the monster he created.  Flash forward three years later to Carlsbruck, Germany and we find Peter Cushing now under the name Dr. Stein practicing medicine once again.  Seems you can’t keep a good doctor down and Dr. Victor Frankenstein escaped becoming headless and a priest was substituted instead.  Not a bad deal if you ask me.  It doesn’t take long to figure out Dr. Stein is up to his old ways and with the help of Dr. Kleve who recognizes Dr. Stein for who he truly is, they transplant the brain of Dr. Stein’s crippled assistant, Karl into a new healthier body, albeit a dead one.

The operation is a success, but this being a horror film nothing ever goes as planned.  Wires get crossed, information gets construed and before you know Karl’s brain starts to go back to its old ways and disfigures the new body.  And to make matters worse Dr. Stein’s true identify is found out and he is wanted once again to pay for his crimes.  But before the fuzz can get him the good doctor is beaten down by a mob of angry patients in the hospital he worked and maybe did some unnecessary surgeries in to gather parts for his new creation.  Beaten near death, wanted by the law, Victor does the only thing he can do.  With the help of Dr. Kleve, Victor’s brain is transplanted into a new body that looks surprisingly just like his old one and it is off to London where he picks up practicing medicine again.  Fucking brilliant.  The next Frankenstein film released by Hammer was The Evil of Frankenstein and while Cushing reprised his role as Dr. Frankenstein is doesn’t pick up where Revenge left off and is kind of a monster all on its own.

Made a year after Curse of Frankenstein and started three days after the Horror of Dracula, Revenge sees the return of the Hammer dream team of Director Terrence Fisher, writer Jimmy Sangster and actor Peter Cushing.  The only one missing is Christopher Lee, but his monster didn’t fair to well at the end of Curse to return.  Actually, the creature in Revenge of Frankenstein probably is the closest to resembling a normal looking man than any other version of Frankenstein from Hammer movies.  There is very little make-up on his face or horrid looking features.  It is not until his brain rejects his new body that any sort of disfigurement takes place. 

When it comes to Hammer Frankenstein movies, it is the doctor who always takes center stage over the monster, where with Universal it was always the monster who stole the limelight.  This is Hammer in its glorious heyday, and while maybe not superior to Curse, Revenge is still a great movie and one of those Hammer films you just can’t go wrong with.  Even though it lacks the look of a monster, the continuing story of Dr. Victor Frankenstein carries the movie all on its own.