Evil of Frankenstein, The (1964)
Starring: Peter Cushing, Peter Woodthorpe, Duncan Lamont
Director: Freddie Francis
Synopsis: Third in Hammer's Frankenstein odyssey
Reviewed by: Ali Khan

 

The Evil of Frankenstein is the second sequel to Hammer's masterful, mould-breaking The Curse of Frankenstein. That landmark film was followed by the impressive The Revenge of Frankenstein, leaving The Evil of Frankenstein with much to live up to.

The story sees Baron Frankenstein returning to the site of his original experiments—the village of Karlstaad. Back at his long-abandoned château and laboratory, he hopes to uncover the missing link in his relentless quest to create life. His presence, however, is soon discovered and, once again, an angry mob of villagers drives him from the town. Taking refuge in the surrounding mountains, Frankenstein makes the remarkable discovery that his original creation has survived, perfectly preserved beneath the ice.

Determined to revive the creature, the Baron enlists the services of a hypnotist in the hope of awakening the monster's dormant mind. Predictably, matters begin to unravel when the hypnotist starts using the creature to further his own sinister ambitions.

The premise of The Evil of Frankenstein is an interesting one and recalls several episodes from Mary Shelley's original novel, particularly the creature's retreat into the rugged, snow-covered mountains, Baron Frankenstein's isolated castle and the increasingly tragic plight of the monster himself.

Unfortunately, one could also argue that the sum of these individual elements never becomes greater than the whole.

The film promises much but ultimately fails to deliver. In particular, it loses momentum once the hypnotist, Zoltan, assumes centre stage, relegating the film's most compelling character—Baron Frankenstein—to the sidelines.

The creature itself is also considerably less impressive than Hammer's original incarnation, memorably portrayed by Christopher Lee in The Curse of Frankenstein. With Universal distributing The Evil of Frankenstein in the United States, Hammer was finally free to model the creature much more closely on Universal's iconic monster.

Yet, in doing so, much of the originality and shock value that distinguished the monster in The Curse of Frankenstein is lost. In fact, that sense of familiarity affects the entire production. Before long, the story begins to feel routine and surprisingly predictable.

Nevertheless, Peter Cushing once again delivers a superb performance as Baron Frankenstein, bringing his customary intelligence and conviction to the role. Cushing was a remarkably gifted actor who never quite received the recognition he deserved during his lifetime.

Unfortunately, the rest of the film proves to be little more than an average effort.