the audience applauded

From my favorite movies..

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed is directed by Terence Fisher and written by Bert Batt. It stars Peter Cushing, Veronica Carlson, Simon Ward and Freddie Jones. Music is by James Bernard and cinematography by Arthur Grant.The fifth entry in Hammer Film's Frankenstein series is one of the best. Playing as a variant on the original Frankenstein sources, story finds Cushing's Baron Victor Frankenstein as an utterly repugnant individual who is prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve his medical goals. Morally and ethically bankrupt, Frankenstein blackmails young lovers Anna and Karl into helping him achieve his ultimate goal - with disastrously ghoulish results for all concerned.Steered strongly by the hands of the under valued Fisher, pic is not just hauntingly elegant as per being a Gothic mood piece, but it is filled out with macabre shocks, and even gallows humour. Some scenes are striking in their ability to gnaw away at your senses, including the infamous sexual predator scene that has divided opinions (personally I think it's great in showing how low Frankenstein has got). It builds to a terrific climax, where Freddie Jones (turning in a super emotionally driven turn as one of the better "creatures" in the series) and Frankenstein indulge in spider and fly bluster.Despair, degradation and disintegration unbound, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed is high-end Hammer Horror. 8/10

When a burglar breaks into his house, "Baron Frankenstein" (Peter Cushing) is forced to leave town immediately due to some rather disturbing items he had placed inside the cellar. To that end, when he finally reaches his destination he rents a room at a boarding house and proceeds to resume his experiments from there. To further his work he blackmails a young physician named "Karl" (Simon Ward) and his lovely fiancé "Anna" (Veronica Carlson) into helping him. And part of his plan involves kidnapping a colleague named "Dr. Brandt" (George Pravda) who has gone completely insane and is locked up in a well-guarded asylum. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this particular movie put Baron Frankenstein in a much more cruel and evil light than any of the other preceding films of the Frankenstein legacy. At least, that is how it seemed to me. Yet, having said that, I thought this sinister depiction actually helped from a horror aspect and Peter Cushing was certainly able to use this diabolical change to his advantage. Likewise, having a beautiful actress like Veronica Carlson certainly didn't hurt this movie in any way either. In any case, I thought that this was a pretty good horror movie and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED is one of the later entries in the long running Hammer Horror Series, which sees Peter Cushing reprising his famous role of the ruthless mad doctor. This is undoubtedly one of the highlights in what remains a very strong series, because the emphasis isn't on scientific apparatus or Universal stylings (as in the slightly disappointing previous two entries, THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN and FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN). Here, the villain of the piece is Frankenstein himself, and he's never been so ruthless.The gory, blood-drenched murder scene which opens the film reveals just what a monster the doctor has become, but somehow Cushing still holds it all together and makes his Frankenstein a fresh and spellbinding creation. Watching him upset the local gentry is just as enjoyable as watching him performance his brain experiments. Director Terence Fisher is at his best here, creating a lush and colourful masterpiece loaded with ghoulish delights - the set-piece involving the burst water main is straight out of a Hitchcock film.The supporting cast are strong indeed, with Simon Ward taking on the apprentice role, and Veronica Carlson a fitting damsel in distress. Freddie Jones gives the best performance as the Creature in any of Hammer's Frankenstein movies, a truly sympathetic portrayal of a man who has quite literally lost his mind. There are a couple of minor problems with this film, namely the tacked-on rape scene (unnecessary) and the sub-plot involving detective Thorley Walters and his sidekick Geoffrey Bayldon, which goes nowhere and seems to have been added in to pad out the running time. Nevertheless this remains a Hammer Horror highlight and a delightfully dark slice of English Gothic.

For me the only two that are superior are Curse of Frankenstein and Revenge of Frankenstein(with the weakest being The Evil of Frankenstein). Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed is Peter Cushing's penultimate outing as Frankenstein and it's a very strong one.I do have to agree with those saying that the rape scene wasn't all that necessary- it is clear that Frankenstein is depraved but the film did go a bit too far adding that in- and did seem in bad taste. The climax is very exciting and suspenseful but ends a little too hastily, and parts of the second half are a little padded. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed as with most Hammer horrors is visually accomplished, love the sumptuous Gothic quality of the costume and set design, it's a very colourful film to look at and the film is photographed beautifully and atmospherically. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed is hauntingly scored, with the music really complimenting the atmosphere well and even enhances it while also not over-powering.The script is witty, nuanced and tense with no signs of irrelevant froth or juvenile misplaced humour, while the story has never a dull moment(even with the odd bit of padding in the second half and is always compelling, giving off a really suspenseful, creepy and occasionally violent atmosphere. Two scenes really stood out, the buried body bursting out of the earth is unsettlingly scary and there is a scene between Freddie Jones's character and his wife that genuinely brought tears to the eye. Terence Fisher's direction is taut and unflinching. The acting is very fine all round, with top honours going to a chillingly incisive Peter Cushing as a more evil Frankenstein this time round, an alluring and heartfelt Veronica Carlson(the gowns she wears here suited her) and especially a hauntingly powerful Freddie Jones. All in all, a very strong penultimate Hammer Frankenstein outing for Cushing and the third best of the series after Curse and Revenge. 8/10 Bethany Cox