Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The movie is wildly uneven but lively and timely - in its own surreal way

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Ten years after fleeing from the German village of Karlstaad, Dr. Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) returns with his assistant "Hans" (Sandor Eles) to continue his experiments in bringing the dead back to life. However, when they get to his old château they find that it has been ransacked by the local villagers and in an effort to explain to Hans the circumstances that led to this he recounts everything that happened to him until the present. Not long afterward they venture into the town only to be recognized and chased out again. Fortunately, they see a young female "beggar" (Katy Wild) who leads them to a cave where they can take shelter from an oncoming storm. The next morning Baron Frankenstein awakens to discover that the monster he had created--and long thought to be dead—is frozen inside a block of ice within that same cave. And things take on a life of their own after that. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that—like most Hammer films made during this time—this particular movie carries with it the same typical style and ambiance that worked so well during this period. To that extent, Peter Cushing's performance is as solid as always and for that reason I have rated this film accordingly. Slightly above average.

Out of all the "Frankenstein" movies actor Peter Cushing made for Hammer Studios, "The Evil of Frankenstein" is considered by many critics to be the weakest of the series. That doesn't mean it's automatically a BAD movie. If you've liked the other in the series, and have a taste for Cushing and Hammer, you'll probably get some reasonable enjoyment out of the movie as I did. All the same, I did think the movie could have been a lot better. The main problem with the movie is the script, specifically when it comes to various actions that the characters make. There are a lot of stupid decisions and actions. For example, when the authorities in the town find out that Dr. Frankenstein has returned, they don't think of looking for him in his long abandoned castle for a very long time. Even Dr. Frankenstein himself seems significantly stupider than in other entries of this series, like when he is trying to stay undercover but confronts (twice) someone in the town who stole his property.But as I said in my summary line, there is still some fun here. Cushing is entertaining as usual, and as stupid as the movie may get at times, I admit I was never bored. If you are willing to accept a good many groaner character actions, the movie does entertain - just not as much as it could have, though.

The third entry in Hammer Films' 7-movie Frankenstein cycle was the first (of two) to be helmed by a director other than their resident go-to-guy Terenece Fisher; in fact, it was passed on to Oscar-winning cinematographer-turned-director Freddie Francis – himself a Hammer veteran in their psychological thrillers vein via PARANOIAC (1963) and NIGHTMARE (1964) – after Fisher bowed out due to an automobile accident. As it turned out, both non-Fisher entries – the other being prime Hammer scribe Jimmy Sangster's offbeat directorial debut THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN (1970) – did not go down well at all with fans of the celebrated British studio! Although I recall a couple of matinée screenings on Italian TV in the past. I eventually caught up with THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN in late 2005 while on a 3-month sojourn in Hollywood via Universal's 4-Disc 8-movie DVD collection "The Hammer Horror Series"; incidentally, that set also included two movies which, like the one under review, was padded out with extra footage for TV syndication – namely Fisher's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1962) and Don Sharp's KISS OF THE VAMPIRE (1963; retitled KISS OF EVIL) – which I will be checking out later on during this month as part of my ongoing Halloween marathon.Hammer stalwart Peter Cushing reprises his signature role of Baron Victor Frankenstein but, although there is a reference here to his past crimes, the flashback in question is not imported footage from the original entry THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957) but one shot expressly for this film and featuring the actor playing The Creature here, namely professional wrestler Kiwi Kingston (at one point, shown munching ravenously on a flock of sheep and even suffering from debilitating migraine attacks)! Indeed, oddly enough, this entry discounts completely its predecessor – THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1958) – just as the above-mentioned Sangster film did the rest of the series!! As the film begins, Cushing is fleeing the village he has relocated to after the events of CURSE because of further grave-robbing antics and, with his new assistant Sandor Eles, returns secretively to his family mansion in Karlstaad with the intention of selling off its precious possessions in order to fund his future experiments in electrical reanimation of dead tissue. As it happens, Frankenstein's hometown is being visited by a circus troupe and, after falling foul of burgomaster David Hutcheson and Chief of Police Duncan Lamont, a masked Cushing and Eles find themselves "volunteering" for the act of hypnotist Peter Woodthorpe; taking refuge inside a cave along with deaf-mute Katy Wild (which was rendered thus by her meeting with The Creature during the aforementioned flashback), Cushing fortuitously stumbles on Kingston's body perfectly preserved in a glacier. Needless to say, the irrepressible scientist contrives to transport the body to his now-dilapidated mansion and engages Woodthorpe's services to reanimate it when the proverbial thunderstorm fails to do the trick. Unfortunately for him, the latter turns out to be the real villain of the piece – assaulting the deaf-mute girl and keeping her against her will in the dungeons, tormenting the chained monster and, worse still, ordering it to dispose of the local authority figures who had earlier humiliated him by stopping his public performance to apprehend Cushing and Eles! The film was a potentially momentous co-production with Universal Studios which, 30 years previously, had made its own classic versions of the tale with Boris Karloff; this allowed Hammer to utilize for the first time a variation on the iconic Jack Pierce make-up design for the Frankenstein monster which, despite the ubiquitous Roy Ashton's involvement, lends the resultant square-headed creature a decidedly ludicrous appearance. Similarly the screenplay penned by John Elder (a pseudonym for Hammer stalwart Anthony Hinds) is a subpar hodge-podge of old Universal themes: from drunken, embittered villagers bemoaning their kin's unkind fate at the hands of The Creature to pompous figures of authority harassing the titular aristocrat to vengeful travelling charlatans taking advantage of the latter's wandering creation.Unfortunately, despite good intentions all round, the full-blooded Hammer magic fails to strike here; perhaps this was the main reason why the film was eventually trimmed in spots but also had an additional 13 minutes interpolated into the narrative for its U.S. TV screenings. Even so, these extra scenes – notably featuring Hollywood character actor Steven Geray as a sympathetic doctor – add very little of substance or entertainment value that make one wonder who was actually responsible for them! Indeed, this "Extended TV version" is apparently so rare that I could only come across a hazy and wobbly copy culled from Australian TV!!

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.