Lady Frankenstein (1971)

The Frankenstein legend has inspired countless films over the decades, but few are quite as gloriously peculiar as Lady Frankenstein, a delirious Italian horror oddity that manages to combine mad science, gothic melodrama, monster mayhem and some truly baffling psychology into one highly entertaining package.

The film opens in the laboratory of Baron Frankenstein, played by veteran actor James Cotton, who spends his days surrounded by bubbling chemicals, crackling machinery and enough flashing electrical equipment to power a small nation. Assisted by his loyal subordinate, the Baron is convinced that he is finally on the verge of creating life from death.

Just as success appears within reach, his daughter Tanya returns home after completing medical school. Ambitious, intelligent and determined to prove herself worthy of the Frankenstein name, she eagerly offers to assist her father in his experiments. The Baron, however, is reluctant to involve her in his dangerous work.

Naturally this only increases her curiosity.

Following the traditional laws governing all Frankenstein stories, disaster soon strikes. During the crucial experiment, the creature is successfully animated amidst thunder, lightning and enough laboratory theatrics to satisfy even the most demanding mad scientist. Unfortunately the monster immediately repays its creator by beating him to death and escaping into the countryside.

The creature itself is a magnificent sight. Possessing a head roughly the size of a small wardrobe, a jaw that appears to have been borrowed from a different species altogether and trousers that fit about as well as a tent wrapped around a lamppost, it is one of the least convincing monsters ever committed to film. Yet there is something strangely endearing about its lumbering incompetence.

With her father dead, Tanya decides to continue the family business.

This is where the film becomes truly bizarre.

Tanya’s grand plan involves creating a second creature using the brain of her devoted assistant and the body of a handsome handyman. Her motivation is less scientific progress than personal convenience. She wants a companion who possesses both physical attractiveness and intellectual sophistication—essentially designing her ideal boyfriend through surgery.

It is a remarkably practical solution to dating problems.

Meanwhile the original monster continues rampaging through the countryside, strangling victims, disrupting romantic encounters and generally behaving as one would expect from a giant reanimated corpse with severe emotional issues.

Complicating matters further is an investigating detective who begins to suspect that something unusual is taking place at the Frankenstein estate. Tanya attempts to stay one step ahead of the law while simultaneously pursuing her increasingly questionable scientific ambitions.

The film eventually builds toward an entertaining showdown between the two monsters, at which point Tanya discovers what generations of Frankenstein scientists have already learned: creating life is considerably easier than controlling it.

James Cotton brings considerable dignity to proceedings despite his limited screen time, while Rosalba Neri is excellent as the calculating and seductive Tanya. Her performance is easily the film’s greatest strength, giving the story a strange energy that distinguishes it from countless other Frankenstein variations.

The special effects are variable, the monster is ridiculous, the plotting frequently borders on insanity and much of the science would give a medical student an aneurysm. Yet these flaws are precisely what make the film enjoyable.

Far from being a serious horror film, Lady Frankenstein works best as a piece of exuberant gothic camp. It is absurd, sleazy, frequently nonsensical and often unintentionally hilarious, but it never stops being entertaining.

The monster may be one of cinema’s least intimidating creations, but the real horror here is Tanya Frankenstein herself—a woman who looks at murder, grave robbing and brain transplantation and concludes that they are perfectly reasonable solutions to her romantic frustrations.

For lovers of cult cinema, that alone makes Lady Frankenstein worth a look.