Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) - May 19, 2020

[Akijama]

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product...roduct_id=7365

"... the film belongs to Peter Cushing, and as such is a perfect swansong for his greatest creation." – britishhorrorfilms.co.uk

Is Baron Frankenstein truly dead? That's precisely what he wants the world to think. He's had it up to here with a public that doesn't appreciate the trouble a mad scientist goes through to snatch good body parts. To carry on his work, he holes up in a place where the possibilities are utterly maddening: a home for the criminally insane! A hand here. A brain there ... true to form, the Baron (Peter Cushing) keeps his gruesome creation (David Prowse, known for his portrayal of Darth Vader) in stitches in this sixth and final fright fest in Hammer Films' Frankenstein cycle.

[Richard--W]

I hope the color timing and grading, so artful and unusual on theatrical screens, is recovered
on this blu-ray.

[dallywhitty]

I haven't seen an awful lot of Hammer films, but this one's my fave. There's just something about it.

[monwobbbo]

yay!!!!!! now we just need CURSE. on of my fav Cushing Frankenstein films so will be glad to get this one. hopefully it is uncut

[Nailwraps]

I was kind of expecting this to be a collector's edition containing both cuts.

Oh well.

[Richard--W]

I love how it looks, visually and aesthetically, and the premise is a good idea. The premise
promises more than the story delivers. I had hoped the question of the Baron's sanity
would be explored during his manipulation of the system and struggle for power over the
institution; instead it gets bogged down in predictable monster mechanics. As a result the
film disappoints, but it looks great. I want a blu-ray that replicates the theatrical print.

[Michael24]

One of my least-favorite Hammer horrors that I've seen. The monster itself is really ridiculous-looking. It has its moments, though, and Cushing is good as always, but overall I felt it was a disappointing final film for the Frankenstein series. Still, I'm sure I'll probably pick it up, especially since it's not a CE and the price will be more reasonable for the content, and for me even some of Hammer's weaker films can still coast on their atmosphere alone.

[critterdvd]

This is one of the last films I have not seen from Hammer. Can't wait to finally get a chance to check it out.

[startrekkin58]

Originally Posted by Nailwraps

I was kind of expecting this to be a collector's edition containing both cuts.

Oh well.

Isn’t the 93m cut the only cut we really need?

[Nailwraps]

Originally Posted by startrekkin58

Isn’t the 93m cut the only cut we really need?

Not unless you're a enthusiast and also want to view the film as originally screened in the US.

These days you want now the unrated AND the original theatrical version for each film.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by Nailwraps

Not unless you're a enthusiast and also want to view the film as originally screened in the US.

These days you want now the unrated AND the original theatrical version for each film.

I can’t imagine why anyone would want the original US theatrical version of this; there’s no unique footage, it’s just a censored version of the film. It would be a waste of disc space IMO.

[babybreese]

I say No thanks.

If it's just censored for the MPAA ( the case here )
no one wants that kind of 'as screened anywhere' bonuses.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by Richard--W

I hope the color timing and grading, so artful and unusual on theatrical screens, is recovered
on this blu-ray.

Are the colors not correct on the UK Blu?

[RICKBONDOO7]

Shout ! You are Amazing ! Yesterday Evil was announced and today Monster from Hell. You just made my day again ! I hope Curse will be coming soon.

[DR Herbert West]

Finally!

[SMOOT]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

Are the colors not correct on the UK Blu?

I have the Region Free Australian Blu-ray disc --
Unfortunately it is 25fps/50Hz and not all USA players will convert it for USA HDTVs (fortunately, most LG & Samsung players will).
It looks excellent.
The USA DVD is pale, flat, soft, muddy, and colorless in comparison.

[captainsolo]

There have been newer discs floating around in and out of print that are reputedly far better than the OOP US DVD.
I hope this is from those or a newer source and is uncut.

This is a joy to see on the new release schedule. FATMFH is not only the swan song of the series but of Hammer horror as well in many ways. Its shortcomings and low budget are made up for by its poetic qualities and that it’s as if everyone got together one last time to say goodbye.

[The Batman Professor]

Finally! Obviously a day one purchase for me.

[ravenus]

For what it's worth, my review of the film (after watching it on the UK BD):

Partly poignant, partly grotesque, 1973's Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (FatMfH) is like its subject a mosaic of contrasting elements. It was the last in Hammer's multi-installment Frankenstein series (almost all of which starred Peter Cushing as the titular Baron Frankenstein) and the swan song for the studio's most triumphant director Terence Fisher.

The story begins not with Frankenstein himself, but with Simon Helder (Shane Briant), a young doctor desirous of emulating the missing baron's experiments (with an illustrated book whose title tells as much). It's a rip-roaring beginning with a policeman discovering the handsome doctor's study which houses among other things a fresh cadaver and a jar of eyeballs. Shane Briant is a strikingly beautiful actor, almost effeminate, and his Simon displays a chilling level temperament even when sentenced to a 5-year stretch at an insane asylum. It is at the asylum that he encounters his idol Baron Frankenstein, hiding under the not-so-clever pseudonym of Dr. Viktor. Cushing makes a dramatic entrance emerging out of the shadows to stop Simon's hazing by the crude asylum warders. He then takes him on as assistant to the task of administering to the patients' medical needs. You see, the asylum director is a wasted hedonist and Frankenstein himself runs the place (rather more humanely than the official warden), and is in return provided the space and means to conduct his "experiments".

Initially you feel this may be a different kind of Frankenstein film, in which the apprentice proves more eager than the baron himself to learn about and help with his work. Simon's almost creepy admiration and Frankenstein's initial hesitation gives it something of an Apt Pupil feel. But once the corpse is out of the bag, the baron quickly reverts to original form, and Simon finds that he may have got more than he bargained for, with inmate deaths occurring all too conveniently when the baron needs specific spare parts for his latest 'creation'. The monster of the title is played by muscleman David Prowse, famous as Darth Vader and trainer for Christopher Reeve's Superman physique. Prowse is encased in a hairy rubber suit, looking more like a badly shaved ape than a resurrected cadaver. But in his limited way his character suggests both savagery and pathos. There's also the beautiful but mute nurse Sarah (Madeline Smith), dubbed Angel by the inmates - in an early on-the-nose scene, an inmate sculptor (Bernard Lee aka James Bond's M) even gives her a winged angel figurine.

Unlike previous Terence Fisher entries for Hammer, the script (Anthony Hinds) is curiously free of character drama or tension for the longest period, devoting much time to the mechanics of the transplant procedure (since this is the 70's, blood and offal are on blatant display). The sequence of events leading to the climax come up quite abruptly: the baron hatches an absurd plan of having the creature mate with Sarah, which is vehemently opposed by Simon who then tries to destroy the monster. In turn the monster gets loose and...well, a good deal of mayhem occurs.

Prior to FatMfH the studio had tried to adapt to the more liberal time with explicit nudity, lesbianism and gore in their films (and awkward ventures like Dracula AD 1972). But this film is a return to the classic Hammer recipe, as if they knew that time was up for the studio, and wanted to go out with the sort of film that audiences first noticed them for. Both Terence Fisher and Peter Cushing were dealing with tough times - Fisher had had two automobile accidents in rapid succession leaving him in serious doubts about his ability to work, and 60-plus Cushing was still enervated from the death in 1971 of his beloved wife Helen. But they bring their game to the table, and the scene where Frankenstein smashes a bottle of anesthetic ether into his coat and then leaps onto the monster's back to smother him with the fumes, flailed around till the massive creature finally falls, undoubtedly brings nostalgic cheer to Hammer fans. Briant's Simon is a worthy player against Frankenstein and Smith is sincere as Sarah. A trove of classic Hammer actors serve in the supporting cast for this last hurrah to their alma mater.

Of course, FatMfH was always damned to fail, appearing laughably quaint in the face of such ferocious competition as William Friedkin's The Exorcist, but the film has its own weaknesses. Hammer was always a tight-fisted studio, and in the absence of the American co-funding they previously enjoyed, the budget for this one seems to have been tighter than for earlier films. The penury is partially mitigated by being set almost entirely in a single location, but apart from the costumes and some of the props, it looks a little threadbare and the very obvious miniature showing the asylum and its surrounding is an eyesore. The lighting is blander than usual in large swathes of the picture. The creature's appearance is not justified by its origin. There might have been some desperation to up the gore content with some brutal blood-soaked stabbings, and the climax appears unnecessarily inspired by Night of the Living Dead's zombie carnage.

But flaws notwithstanding FatMfH is a fond farewell to an era of thrilling horror films from that classic British studio.

[FlyBry]

This will be a Day 1 purchase for me. This is the first Hammer film I ever watched. I remember being struck by the artwork and buying it on a Paramount EP-mode VHS. I was maybe 11 or 12 and loved everything about it. This is the film that started it at all for me when it comes to British gothic horror.

And I love the ending to this one.

[Show spoiler] Well, that didn't work. Oh well. Tomorrow's another day.

I already have the Oz Blu, but I'll gladly upgrade this one because it holds a special place in my heart.