Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell is a 1974 British horror film from Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Terence Fisher and starred Peter Cushing and David Prowse. It was the final chapter in Hammer's Frankenstein series of films, and director Fisher's final feature.
It was filmed in 1972 at Elstree Studios, but was not released until 1974.
Production
This was Hammer's final Frankenstein entry. Some fans of the genre and of Hammer films in particular see it as a masterful work, while others consider it a low point in Hammer film production.
The low budget does show in Scott MacGregor's claustrophobic sets and unconvincing miniatures, and the monster's costume is obviously a pull-over mask designed by Eddie Knight (though the monster is unique in the annals of Frankenstein cinema). But Fisher's direction and Cushing's consummate performance (this time portraying the character as completely mad) are examples of true dedication to this type of cinema, and the confinement of the asylum only adds to the doomed, somber mood. Prowse, who is now universally better known as the man who played (but did not voice) Darth Vader and who essayed the role of the monster in The Horror of Frankenstein, is able to give the part some empathy.
Plot summary
In this final film in the series, Baron Victor Frankenstein (Cushing) is housed at an insane asylum. He has been made a surgeon at the asylum, and has a number of privileges, as he holds secret information on the asylum's corrupt director (John Stratton). The Baron, under the alias of Dr. Carl Victor, uses his position to continue his experiments in the creation of man.
When Simon Helder (Shane Briant), a young doctor and fan of the Baron's work, arrives as an inmate, the Baron takes him under his wing as an apprentice. Together they work on a new creature. Unbeknownst to Simon, however, Frankenstein is acquiring body parts by murdering his patients. When the creature - lumbering, hirsute and dumb - is complete, it is bitter and intent on revenge.
The Baron's new experiment is the hulking, ape-like Herr Schneider (Prowse), a homicidal inmate whom he has kept alive after a violent suicide attempt and on whom he has grafted the hands of a recently deceased sculptor (Bernard Lee). Since Frankenstein's hands were badly burned in the name of science, the shabby stitch-work was done by Sarah (Madeline Smith), a beautiful mute girl who assists the surgeon, and who is nicknamed "Angel". When Simon tells the Baron that he is a surgeon, the problem is solved.
Soon new eyes and a new brain are given to the creature in horror gore fashion. The creature ultimately runs amuck in the insane asylum. The monster is eventually destroyed by a mob of inmates. Simon is devastated by the loss of life and reports to Frankenstein; however, Frankenstein felt that it was the best that could happen to such a creature, and is already considering a new experiment with other involuntary donors.
Cast
Credits
External links
