More Hammer Horror. And it's still pretty darn good. I'll have to see if it's Mr. Peter Cushing that's giving me the vapors, or Mr. Terrence Fisher, who has directed all of the Hammer Horror up to this point. (And both seem to be involved with the next couple too - so, something to look forward to.) By all accounts, The Revenge of Frankenstein was shot almost directly after The Horror of Dracula (apparently even using some of the same sets), so I guess they were on a hot streak and just went with it.
My Synopsis: Revenge takes place after the events of Curse of Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein (Cushing) is on death row and about to be executed. But there's some shenanigans at the guillotine! Frankenstein escapes after one of the executioners offers him freedom - in exchange Frankenstein must fix the executioner's partial paralysis. Flash forward three years - Frankenstein, now known as Dr. Stein, has set up shop in Carlsbruck (Germany - apparently not a real place) and is a successful physician there. He has a popular practice and volunteers at the hospital for the poor. But like the old saying goes, you can't keep a good Frankenstein from experimenting with body parts and brain transplants. Which he tries to do, with predicable results.
Overall: Quite enjoyable. Cushing is in the zone, the supporting cast is game, and it's fun without being goofy, scary without being overly grim.
The most notable thing about Revenge is that Frankenstein is presented in a considerably better light than he was in Curse. In the first film, he was kind of a dick, having an antagonistic relationship with his assistant and outright murdering people when he has to. Here, he's got a willing assistant and the bad things that happen are totally not his fault. You *feel* for Dr. Frankenstein more here - and personally I felt a little more of an emotional connection with this film.
You do end up missing out on the traditional Frankenstein's monster - so if you are expecting a big, green lumbering guy or whatever you're out of luck. Frankenstein has upped his game in the three years that have passed since the last film, so he's working on reanimating a dude who pretty much looks normal - just really tall. But the results end up being mostly the same, so that's a plus. Although I'm curious where they go from here. Frankenstein has already shown that he can create a pretty normal looking person - I'm not sure what his next (certainly doomed) experiment would even be.
A lot of the same things that worked in the last film work here. Cushing is great and has good chemistry with this assistant Dr. Hans Kleve (Francis Matthews), and the laboratory sets are pretty rad looking. Really, of the sets are a step up from the last film, and while we're still not at a place that I go to in my head when I think of "gothic," everything looks period appropriate.
Compared to the first one? I think Revenge may be a better film overall. I think it works better to have a Frankenstein that's more of a tragic hero. Although there's a a certain nostalgia of sorts with the first film - it kicked off a new era in the genre, and it's got the classic monster. So who knows?
I'll cut it off here. It's hard writing about these Hammer horror films - just about everything has already been said about them, and there's something about films from this era that are a little more difficult for me to engage with in writing. Especially when they're good. I'll continue to check out Hammer Horror - maybe if (when?) I get to a bad one they'll be easier to write about?
I would recommend this film.
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