Wow! Such a good movie.

Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

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.

British Hammer (Horror) Studios had already made two Frankenstein films, based on the classic Mary Shelley story, I unsure what I would make of this third entry, but I knew it was rated fairly negatively by critics. Basically Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) is penniless, he has been forced to leave town following the discovery of his laboratory and his experiments, he returns to his hometown of Karlstaad, with his assistant Hans (Sandor Elès). Ten years prior to the events that led to his exile, Frankenstein recalls bringing a being to life, after the police discovered his heresy he was arrested and fined, the Creature (Kiwi Kingston) escaped into the mountains and fell into a crevice. The following day, Frankenstein and Hans go in disguise to a dinner party, but they are recognised, they hide out at the exhibit of hypnotist Zoltan (Peter Woodthorpe) the arrogant Zoltan is arrested, and allows Frankenstein and Hans to escape. After more encounters with the authorities, Frankenstein and Hans retreat to the mountains, where Frankenstein's original creations is eventually discovered, frozen in a glacier, it is thawed out and restored to life at the château, they use the services and abilities of Zoltan to reanimate the creature's mind. Zoltan however uses the monster, responding to his commands, for his own advantage, he uses the creature to rob and take revenge on the authorities, Frankenstein realises this, the monster is made to attack him, but the Baron scares it off, in turn it brutally kills Zoltan. The creature goes on a violent rampage, during which it rips apart the electrical components and causes a fire in the laboratory, after trying to subdue it Frankenstein tries to escape, the creature stumbles about in terror as the flames surround them. In the end, villagers see Hans and a Beggar Girl (Katy Wild) flee the château, there is an explosion and the tower is thrown over the edge of the cliff, the monster is killed, but the fate of Frankenstein is unknown. Also starring Duncan Lamont as Chief of Police, David Hutcheson as Burgomaster, Caron Gardner as Burgomaster's Wife, James Maxwell as Priest and Tony Arpino as Body Snatcher. Cushing is still relatively good as the crazy scientist, unfortunately he is in the middle of what is almost a rehash of what has been seen in the previous two films, the story of the monster frozen in ice, revived and controlled by a hypnotist is pretty silly, and the creature effects are terrible, it is just an uninteresting and mediocre horror film. Adequate!

Like its monster, the third of Hammer's Frankenstein series is a bit of a mess that clumsily stumbles around doing a lot of damage, ultimately ruining all the hard work that has gone before. Some of the blame must go to director Freddie Francis, whose work was never on a par with that of Terence Fisher, his predecessor in the series, but the sub-par script by the usually reliable Anthony Hinds also plays a big part in this film's failure.Rather than follow on from the excellent The Revenge of Frankenstein, where the baron was last seen practising in London under the name of Dr. Franck, this one opens with Viktor (Peter Cushing) and his loyal assistant Hans (Sandor Elès) being hounded out of a European village for their ungodly work and secretly returning to Karlstaad, where they intend to gather up some of the baron's belongings in order to raise some cash. Unfortunately, Viktor discovers that, in his absence, his home has been plundered by the local Burgomaster, which makes him so angry that he blows his cover (an action that seems extremely out of character for one as clever and as cunning as he).A deaf/mute beggar girl (Katy Wild) offers Viktor and Hans refuge in her cave, where the pair discover the baron's creature from years before, perfectly preserved, frozen in a glacier (a silly idea borrowed from Universal's Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man). After thawing out the monster, the scientists enlist the help of devious fairground hypnotist Zoltan (Peter Woodthorpe) to stimulate its dormant brain; having done so, Zoltan takes control of the beast, sending it into town, first to steal gold, and eventually to kill. The film finishes in a rather laughable fashion with the creature getting drunk and going on the rampage (we've all done it).This is all so cheesy that it might have been a lot of trashy fun (although definitely not in keeping with Hammer's usual classy style), but Francis's storytelling is lacklustre and his direction uninspired, and with none of the great imagery and sumptuous colours that Fisher would have brought to the table, it all proves rather boring. Cushing aside, the performances are all rather hammy, as if the actors knew that they were dealing with a substandard script. Worst of all is the film's cruddy monster (first seen in a flashback that has no bearing on either of the previous films), which looks like someone has jammed a cereal box on the actor's head and then plastered his face with papier mâché.

This is the second sequel to Hammer's classic THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Baron Frankenstein(Peter Cushing) is conducting his experiments at an old watermill, when he is interrupted; so he and his assistant Hans(Sandor Eles)make haste to his family château in Karlstadt. That is where ten years earlier his monster went amok and the misunderstood doctor was chased out of town. After causing a ruckus over a stolen ring in the possession of the town Burgonmaster(David Hutcheson)and the chief of police(Duncan Lamont), once again the Baron is on the run to avoid being arrested. He and Hans come across a young mute girl(Katy Wild), who will lead them to shelter in a cave. Much to the Baron's surprise, he finds his original monster preserved in a block of ice and begins to thaw him out. A hypnotist, Professor Zoltan(Peter Woodthrope),who is also on the run from the law is called upon to help revive Frankenstein's frigid creature. This is actually fun to watch. Sets are interesting; camera work and color is very good. And it always seems there is the added attraction of bosomy women with plenty of cleavage. Many Frankenstein movies have been made, and this is one of the better ones. Kiwi Kingston plays the monster.