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The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)
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Watched 14 Oct 2025
The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) is a cheap, boring reboot of Hammerās series that recasts the Baron with a bland leading man and drops Peter Cushing, the only anchor these films had. According to the internet, this is supposed to be a āblack comedy,ā but thatās a Tommy Wiseauāstyle dodge, and the comparisons to The Room donāt stop there.
Thereās a scene where Frankensteinās assistant suggests they switch to more ethical experiments. Victor pretends to agree, asking him to hold some electrical equipmentā¦ then kills the assistant by switching it on when he stupidly complies. It plays like the horror equivalent of āOh hi, Mark,ā except that scene in The Room at least conjures unintentional laughter. Another highlight is when the creature attacks a little girl. She cries to her father that he hurt her, and after the monster's apparent demise, sheās suddenly sad and says he was āa nice monster, really.ā
In terms of production values, the film is bargain-bin even by Hammer standards. The āmonsterā looks like a circus strongman with an oddly shaped head; youād never call him a monster if the script didnāt insist on it. He doesnāt even show up until more than an hour in, and then his deathālike most of the filmās key eventsāhappens offscreen.
Another example is a scene that implies Victor plans to kill an old man for his brain, then it just cuts to the funeral. Did Frankenstein kill him? Did the man die naturally? Who knows? The sound design in the old man's final scene is so bizarre; complete silence (not even a musical score or ambient noises) while the old man is talking. I thought something was wrong with my device until the dialogue returned, confirming this was meant to show Frankenstein āzoning out.ā
By the time the whole sordid affair has concluded, it feels like Hammer just ran out of money, because the movie doesnāt endāit just stops. If Hammer really wanted to resurrect their franchise, they should have started by resurrecting a script. At least itās not Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, thatās about the only good thing I can say.
