Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) – Film Review

Director: Terence Fisher
Cast: Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, Madeline Smith
Certificate: 15

By Sarah Morgan

It’s 1974 and the horror world is changing. The success of The Exorcist has pushed the boundaries, and fans of the genre now want something new, modern and challenging.

So, in the face of that, what do Hammer Films decide to do? Stick to what they know, but add a little more gore. Well, there’s something admirable about that, I guess, but 52 years ago, you can see why its release of Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell didn’t go down that brilliantly with contemporary cinemagoers – back then it would just have looked like yet another in the long line of gothic chillers the studio seemed able to make in its sleep.

It’s only now, all these decades later, that we can see it for what it is – an entertaining romp with some wonderful style choices by director Terence Fisher (sadly it would be his final film) and a decent script credited to John Elder, the pseudonym of legendary former Hammer executive Anthony Hinds.

“Continue his experiments”

The film also benefits from a strong central performance by an exceedingly gaunt Peter Cushing in his sixth – and last – outing as the crazed scientist in Hammer’s long-running Frankenstein franchise.

In fact, he’s so crazed that he’s living in a mental hospital, but he is, to paraphrase a well known saying, a lunatic who’s taken over the asylum and is now calling himself Dr Victor, having blackmailed the institution’s director so he can continue his experiments while ‘treating’ his fellow inmates.

Into this world comes Dr Simon Helder who, handily enough, is an admirer of Frankenstein’s work, but has been sentenced to five years incarceration for ‘sorcery’. He proves to be a worthy assistant, providing intricate surgical skills; Frankenstein is unable to carry out such tasks due to scarring on his hands, caused by misadventure in a previous film.

Also helping is mute beauty Sarah, one of the film’s only truly sympathetic characters. Helder is initially determined to ensure his new boss achieves his goals – until he realises that Frankenstein plans to mate Sarah with his latest creature. The creature doesn’t seem too thrilled with the idea either…

Shane Briant, who was then being groomed by Hammer as a replacement for the ageing Cushing, is perfectly acceptable as Helder, while Madeleine Smith is fine as Sarah; sadly the script needs her to do little other than look winsome and pretty.

“Sharp and clear”

David Prowse, in his second performance as the creature (his first came in 1970’s The Horror of Frankenstein), wears possibly the most hideous make-up of any of Hammer’s monsters. Just three years later he would, of course, re-team with Cushing in Star Wars.

The supporting cast is impressive, with Bernard Lee and Charles Lloyd Pack standouts as tragic inmates. However, this is Cushing’s film, right from his dramatic entrance, to the very final shot. Always meticulous, he gave the role everything he’d got and it’s worth watching the film for him alone.

Hammer itself may have been its death throes at the time – its final film for 29 years, a remake of The Lady Vanishes, was released just five years later – but there was clearly some life still in it, even if it was struggling to move with the times.

The film looks sharp and clear and can be watched in two different aspect ratios, while special features include an excellent making-of documentary.

Sarah Morgan( Writer )

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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