Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15288 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-10-21
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 93 minutes

Amazon.com
Though it wasn't Hammer Studios' final film, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell can be considered its swan song, an intelligent, inventive, stylized reworking of the themes that had sustained the series for almost two decades. Dr. Frankenstein has buried his old identity and reigns over an insane asylum as Dr. Victor (Peter Cushing under a flamboyant blond wig in his sixth and final turn as the mad scientist) as if it were a live-parts yard for his continuing experiments. With the help of an ambitious acolyte he builds his latest creature, a hirsute apelike brute stitched together from the asylum's most promising inhabitants and turned into a sad, tortured slave. The film was shot at the end of Hammer's glory days, and the budgetary constraints can be seen in unconvincing miniatures and the rather bulky and stiff ogre suit, but the dark, claustrophobic sets create an effectively gloomy atmosphere. Director Terence Fisher effectively pulls out all stops for a marvelous sequence of the creature digging through the asylum graveyard in the middle of a flashing electrical storm, a demonic twist on the iconic gravedigging images that go all the way back to the 1931 Frankenstein. This was the last reunion for Cushing and Fisher, who together gave birth to Hammer's gothic reign with The Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula. Fisher retired after finishing the film. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

A return to familiar gothic traditions...
Though their reign as the Empire of British horror had surely diminished by the time of its release in 1974, Hammer Film's FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL marked a return to their familiar gothic traditions. Not only did it mark the last performance of the gaunt and fancy-wigged Peter Cushing in his most famous role of Baron Frankenstein, it was also the last film directed by Terence Fisher, the man who pretty much made the series his own. Also back were Anthony Hinds doing the writing choirs (under his "John Elder" pen name), composer James Bernard, and a bevy of familiar Hammer supporting players (Patrick Troughton, Charles Lloyd Pack, Peter Madden, Sydney Bromley, etc.).

The plot has Simon Helder (Shane Briant), a young doctor inspired by the work of Victor Frankenstein, being sent to an asylum for practicing "sorcery." There he meets Dr. Carl Victor (Cushing), who apparently harbors secret information on the underhanded director Klauss (John Stratton), and is able to run the place his own way. Young Helder quickly realizes that Dr. Victor is actually Baron Frankenstein, who wants the outside world to believe he is dead. Helder knows that Frankenstein could never give up his experiments, so after doing some snooping, he discovers his secret laboratory and his latest project.

The Baron's new experiment is the hulking, ape-like Herr Schneider (David Prowse), a homicidal inmate whom Frankenstein has kept alive after a violent suicide attempt and has grafted on the hands of a recently deceased sculptor (Bernard Lee). Since Frankenstein's hands were badly burnt in the name of science, the shabby stitch-work was done by Sarah (Madeline Smith), a beautiful mute girl who is nicknamed "Angel" who assists him. When Simon tells the Baron that he is a surgeon, the problem is solved. Soon new eyes and a new brain are given to the creature (allowing this to be a gorefest as far as Hammer is concerned), but he ultimately runs amuck in the asylum.

Filmed in late 1972, Hammer's final Frankenstein entry is one of those films that has divided appreciation among fans, some who think it's masterful and others who deem it a low point. The ultra low budget does show in Scott MacGregor's claustrophobic sets, unconvincing miniatures, and the monster's get-up is obviously a pull-over mask designed by Eddie Knight (though the monster is unique in the annals of Frankenstein cinema). But Fisher's direction and Cushing's consummate performance (adding complete madness this time to the character) display a true dedication to this kind of cinema, and the confinement of the asylum only adds to the doomed, somber mood. Prowse, who essayed the role of the monster in HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN, is able to give the part some empathy--more so than any other Frankenstein monster in the Hammer camp. FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL may be nothing groundbreaking, but it's certainly entertaining and a worthy end to an important chapter in British horror.

It's great to see that Paramount is the latest studio to unleash Hammer films on to the DVD market, but they have released the R-rated U.S. theatrical version which is missing some scenes only found thus far on an atrocious-looking Japanese laserdisc release from the early 90s. The footage not found on this DVD is as follows (those who haven't seen the film may want to view it first before reading this, as I'll reveal some plot points): a few seconds of a sequence where the Baron damns his useless hands and grasps an artery from the monster's wrist with his teeth, followed by his rinsing his mouth out with water; when Briant inserts the monster's eyeball, and Cushing says, "Pop it in," a brief side view of this procedure is replaced in the American version with a reaction shot of Madeline Smith; a second split-second shot of Bernard Lee's character's handless arms in his open coffin (looks to be the same exact brief shot as the first, so perhaps the Japanese just wanted to repeat the bloody sight); after the asylum director has his throat mutilated by the monster, the gushing of blood that comes from his neck is a split-second longer on the Japanese version, and; a few seconds more of the inmates tearing apart the monster during the climax, most notably missing in action is a shot where his guts are being squashed by someone's feet.

Quite simply, Paramount went back to the original negative for this transfer, and these scenes were never meant (or were demanded to be censored) for the U.S. version. Getting past that, Paramount's DVD of FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL looks terrific, and far better than ever before. The film is nicely presented in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with anamorphic enhancement. As usual, the studio has done an excellent transfer. Sharpness and detail are very solid, and dark scenes that were once hard to make out are now clear as day. The print source is free of any major blemishes, and the somewhat subdued (for Hammer) colors appear greatly corrected, as do the various fleshtones. The audio is the original mono--there is some audible hiss present, but dialogue is generally clear and James Bernard's score is adequately robust. Optional English subtitles are also included.

The DVD has one extra feature (no trailer), and it's big one. A running audio commentary with actress Madeline Smith (Sarah) and actor David Prowse (the monster) moderated by genre historian Jonathan Sothcott. The commentary is rather energetic and quite funny, as both actors are never at a loss for words or a story to tell. They have plenty to say about the film, Cushing, Fisher, and the other players--which eventually leads to anecdotes about some of the other films of the period that they were involved in. This is very fun stuff, remaining interesting until the end, and you'll hear a lot of scoops you've probably never heard before in written interviews.

At once fun, frightening, depressing, and entertaining ...
The first film I ever saw in Hammer Studio's Frankenstein series was also the very last, which I feel is a terrible shame, as this was a very good movie. While Hammer's Dracula films drastically revamped themselves twice over the course of their last three films, the Frankenstein series, which was running simultaneously, did it once and even then only partially (by doing no more than cast a younger actor as Dr. Frankenstein). So we have Peter Cushing returning for one final time, after a one-film break with the new guy, in the role of the good doctor, where we get to see him act with Darth Vader three years before the making of "Star Wars" (David Prowse, the man in the Darth Vader suit, is the monster in this one). And I'm glad that Cushing came back, because his performance is what makes this movie so great.

Rather than discuss plot points, as I'm sure you by now have a fairly vague idea of what to expect from this series (though I would like to mention that we get to see the second Doctor Who, Patrick Troughton, as a grave robber at the beginning of the movie), I would instead like to discuss Dr. F, because the character absolutely fascinates me ... especially in this particular film. Here we have a true monster, far worse than any undead beast he could ever bring back to life. Dr. F cares for absolutely nothing but his work ... not only does he have no second thoughts when it comes to disturbing graves, but he goes so far as to see the living as nothing more than potential materiel for his experiments. Witness the casual way he speaks of the patient he prompted to commit suicide (without ever explicitly stating his intention, but by leaving for the patient to read such depressing news that he knew exactly how the patient would react). When I first saw this scene, together with the final one, when Dr. F speaks optimistically about "the next time", I shared completely the shock, dismay, and revulsion felt by our young protagonist, Dr. Helder (Shane Bryant), as he realizes that the man whose work he'd dedicated his studies to and who(m) he'd idolized is so completely inhuman beneath his appearance and kindly manner, so totally obsessed with his life's work that nothing else matters at all, not even his own creations.

Dr. Frankenstein is amoral ... he does whatever he feels is necessary for his experiment to succeed, and hasn't a single care when those actions bring harm or death, let alone anxiety, to anyone else. And yet while certainly not a "good" man, the wicked acts which Dr. F commits are not motivated by malice or a desire to harm ... He's simply so completely blinded by the world of science that it's impossible for him to think in any other way. This makes him, for me at least, one of the most frightening characters in the whole realm of Horror ... a totally conciousless scientist, fanatically devoted to his work and more brilliant than we can even try to imagine. From the films I've seen, I don't believe that any of them give a better, more thought-provoking portrait of the character than this one, without having to rely on any of the films which came before.

"Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell", in spite of suffering from such an awful title, is a wonderfully intelligent and intriguing, visually striking (I love the dreary hallways of the mental institution, as well as the shots of the creature in the graveyard at night), and very well acted indeed. Peter Cushing is one of my favorite actors, and here he certainly doesn't disappoint. Do yourself a small act of kindness and pick up a copy of this DVD today, and then watch it tonight after the lights are out. I think you'll have a marvelous, though somewhat unsettling, time ...

This film will entertain you, but it will also make you think. Definitely five-star material.

Carry on Carry on

MN

The last film in Hammer's legendary Frankesntein series
"Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell" is not only the last film in Hammer's Frankenstein series, it was director Terence Fisher's last work as well. Here we have Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing, back where he belongs after the debacle of "Horror of Frankenstein") playing the role of mentor. Young Simon Helder (Shane Briant) has been trying to follow in the legendary footsteps of Dr. Frankenstein but is convicted of sorcery by the authorities and imprisoned in Carlsbd Asylum. However, Simon is saved from being brutalized by the inmate's physician, "Dr. Victor," who soon has the young man helping him with his nefarious experiments. Since his hands were damaged in "Evil of Frankenstein," Victor has a mute girl named Angel (Madeline Smith) sew together his new creature (David Prowse again). Simon helps procure various organs until only the brain remains and Victor wants to use that of Professor Durendal (Charles Lloyd Pack), a musicial and mathematical genius prone to fits of violence. Frankenstein drives Durendal to suicide and performs the brain transplant. Now in the brutish body of the "monster," Durendal finds he can no longer play his beloved violin. Then the homicidal tendencies of the body began to take over, Simon has grave doubts about the entire experiment, and the Baron comes up with his most revolting plan ever as we head towards the final climax.

Ultimately this is a slightly above average Hammer Frankenstein movie. Certainly the Baron is tipping back towards the amoral/sadistic side of his character, but the monster is almost as sympathetic a figure as it was in "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed." However, the blood and gore quotient is as high as you will find in any Hammer film. The biggest problem with "Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell" is that Victor's motivations are totally stripped away: Dr. Frankenstein makes monsters, so that is what he does in this movie. No longer a figure of ambiguity, Victor is now just like a force of nature, playing God and leaving the rest of the cast in his wake.