CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957)

By: Steve Biodrowski
Date: Saturday, June 09, 2001

The first of reinventions of classic movie monsters by Britain's Hammer Films, this movie established a whole new style for horror--bold and colorful--that completely broke tradition with the cobwebby classics of Universal. The shock of the technicolor gore has long worn off, which is a good thing, in a way, because it proves that contemporary critics, who derided the film for its graphic violence, were completely wrong. The true horror of this film is moral in nature, and it continues to make the skin crawl today thanks to the incisive performance of Peter Cushing as the Baron--never flinching from his purpose, despite the accumulating atrocities he must commit. The appalling lack of conscience is brought out through director Terence Fisher's careful use of reaction shots focused on the mad scientist's one-time mentor and assistant (Robert Uqhart, pictured at right). Christopher Lee's creature also impresses on subsequent viewings. Often viewed as little more than a killing machine, lacking the soul of Boris Karloff's monster, Lee's interpretation actually captures a pathetic sense of sympathy for the shambling, patchwork being.