danmvalverde This film from the Hammer Frankenstein series has been much maligned in the past - probably based on the monster's look which, would likely not please those looking for good visual effects.Hammer were barred from copying any details from the Universal films of the 30s and '40s, including the famous monster make-up. As this film was distributed by Universal, Hammer had free rein to copy elements from the franchise, most noticeably the style (if not the application) of the creature's make-up and the laboratory sets. This gave the picture an extremely authentic look and feel.Lead Peter Cushing was meticulous about the technical details of the role, going as far as to seek advice on holding the scalpel correctly when performing medical scenes. - and this shows.The plot and production is where the piece excels. The Baron, now skinflint holds on to the eagerness of his assistant Hans in continuing his experiments to re-animate life. Though, this is not possible without the help of a mystic, Zoltan. Unfortunately, said mystic, fueled by his own hate and greed, sends the creature into the town to pillage and kill. The townspeople turn on Baron Frankenstein, leaving him desperate to find a way of ending the terror.One of my favourite Hammer films beginning to end.

Scott LeBrun Peter Cushing once again delivers the goods in this third entry into Hammer Studios' "Frankenstein" series. The story (concocted by producer Anthony Hinds, using the "John Elder" pseudonym) isn't great, but it's entertaining enough. We get what we expect: The Baron (Peter Cushing) refuses to give up his experiments involving the creation of life. This time he is assisted by a young man named Hans (Sandor Eles), and through a series of circumstances they end up in a mountainous cavern where they discover the body of The Barons' Monster (played adequately by New Zealand wrestler "Kiwi" Kingston), which is of course brought back to life. But this is not done without some outside help, a hypnotist (Peter Woodthorpe).Due to a deal with Universal, Hammer was able to utilize some classic set decoration, as well as come closer to the classic look of the Monster in the 1930s and 1940s. The makeup by Roy Ashton does not represent his best work, though. The film is directed by genre specialist Freddie Francis, who always brought a sense of style whether he was functioning as director or cinematographer. It definitely LOOKS great, although it doesn't have as much atmosphere as top tier Hammer. Cushing is typically excellent, but you can't help but be annoyed when the Baron keeps blowing his cover by giving into anger and impulsive behavior. Viewers might not care for the hypnotism angle, but it does offer a novel twist on these tales which were so often formulaic. We do get a real eyeful of some lovely ladies (including Katy Wild, who's very appealing as a flame haired mute beggar girl), and there's some mild gore, so "The Evil of Frankenstein" fulfills its sex & violence quotient.Several solid British character actors round out the cast: Duncan Lamont as the chief of police, David Hutcheson as the Barons' nemesis the Burgomaster, James Maxwell as a righteously indignant priest, Howard Goorney as a drunk witness, and an unbilled Timothy Bateson as a hypnotized man. There is a US version that incorporates new scenes with William Phipps, Steven Geray, and Maria Palmer.A lesser entry in this series, but all in all, it's not bad.Six out of 10.

Prichards12345 Freddie Francis did not have much of a feel for Gothic horror, as he admitted himself. He was more at home in modern dress horrors and Amicus' anthology tales; so when he came to The Evil Of Frankenstein he delivered an out of kilter film that doesn't square with the earlier films in the series but instead harks back to the Universal Monsters' movies of the 40s.Peter Cushing's character is somewhat changed, too. Instead of the sardonically ruthless medical researcher here he's a bit of a whinger. Cushing is as good as ever but the Baron is much less interesting this time out, and we only have Peter Woodthorpe's lip-smacking hypnotist to really savour.This one has Frankenstein returning to his castle and recounting a totally different scenario to that seen in Curse of Frankenstein to his assistant Hans (Sandor Eles). Finding the body of his previous creation entombed in the ice, Frankenstein attempts to reach the creature's damaged mind with the aid of said hypnotist, who of course immediately abuses his power.The monster's look in this film is awful - on a par with Dave Prowse in Horror Of Frankenstein. With papier-mache forehead that looks like a cardboard box and size 35 diving boots he's more humorous than frightening. He's also played by an ex-wrestler, and the acting skills of previous creatures Christopher Lee and Michael Gwynne are sorely missed.Evil looks fantastic, however, particularly the laboratory set - the most spectacular of these sets in any Hammer Frankenstein, and the creation scene is splendid. Hammer put the Baron back on an even keel when Terence Fisher returned in the much better Frankenstein Created Woman.

GL84 Trying to get his experiments started again, Baron Frankenstein and his assistant find his earlier creature frozen in ice and still alive, where a local magician uses it to exact revenge on the townspeople who race to stop it before the creature starts another rampage.This here wasn't that bad and actually had some good stuff going for it. The best parts to this one here was whenever it had the creature either as the main focus of the scene or featured it on-screen. The first scene with it, the flashback to the past where it shows the creature's first rampage through the forest and its' confrontations with the townsfolk results in some fun as the chases are nice, the stunts aren't too bad and it has a fun atmosphere that makes it really enjoyable. The fact that there's also some rather fun and enjoyable scenes later on inside the lab where the creature is being brought back to life through the hypnosis makes it quite fun, and when the creature goes out and gets his rampage going, the murder scenes are all nicely done. The final confrontation, where the monster gets out of control and starts a massive fire in the lab which soon turns into an inferno and takes out pretty much everything it can, manages to have much more fun from it when the hero gets stuck down there for the explosive final confrontation. The discovery of the creature takes place in a novel setting with the gloomy atmospherics of the cave-setting, the actual excavation is handled realistically and manages to feel completely plausible the whole way through, which is an unusual for these sorts of things. These here are enough to hold this off against its' bad parts, though there isn't a whole lot of flaws to this one. One of the main issues with the film is that there's an incredibly lame monster design chosen that doesn't do much of anything to instill fear in the viewer, as the expressionless green face looks like a block of flesh put atop the body, it's general shape is baggy and inconsistent, and on the whole there's hardly a whole lot of inference given it's pedigree to the past. The other flaw to this one, and the one that does the most damage is the film's utter dullness when it isn't focused on the monster. The monster is brought out in full detail quite late in the film, making it a real stretch in the beginning to get some good parts out of it. It's slow, dull and beyond the fun flashback has nothing all that exciting to make it interesting by focusing on such extreme lengths as it does on the carnival troupe and their reaction around town who in turn are yet again up-in-arms over the activities being conducted at Frankenstein manor which doesn't really allow much action, and it takes a while before something fun happens. These are the film's weak points.Today's Rating/PG-Violence.