Curse Of Frankenstein

[BaronLatos35]

This and Evil are my favorite of the series. I love how Cushing just dominates the screen. Also this is my favorite version of the monster. In the long black coat, looking dead and wrecking the countryside.

[dlhenderson]

Hammer did an admirable job of revisiting something classic and not just ruining it (as too often happens). I was just a bit too young to have caught their first efforts on the big screen. I think the Spook Theater cards were my little black & white hand-held intros! Finally seeing a decent transfer of Horror of Dracula was a revelation. Seeing the vampires in full chroma, licking their chops was way beyond Lugosi. It's all good though!

[Evermonster]

Hammer's main strength above all is their literacy. In their best movies, their characters speak intelligently, take things seriously, use science to combat monsters, and their hero/villains can suffer from Ahab-ian obsession/

"Curse of Frankenstein" is one of the best of these. I love it.

Matt

Hammer brought some more comtemporary principles to the genre. By inserting more explicit elements and a touch of eroticism they have contributed to set the new standards.

Curse of Frankenstein is as you said, a perfect example.

[Anton Phibes]

HAMMER had some films I consider "THEIR PERFECT LOT". Later on, of course, they chose to compete with what other companies were doing. sacrificing what made them successful to begin with (in my opinion, of course). This brought in an influx of films that I thought were ridiculous and exploitative.


The films that I consider ''THE PERFECT" for Hammer Films consists of:

Curse of Frankenstein
Dracula (Horror of)
The Mummy (in my opinion the finest Mummy to ever be filmed by anyone. ever.)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (my first ever introduction to Holmes and Watson)
The Man Who Cheated Death
Revenge of Frankenstein
The Brides of Dracula (magnificent. Showing the protagonist or 'hero' can carry a picture just fine)
Dracula--Prince of Darkness
Curse of the Werewolf
Phantom of the opera
Paranoiac (Psycho rip---but good)
The Gorgon
The Reptile (absolutely magnificent)
The Plague of the Zombies
The Devil Rides Out
Frankenstein Must be Destroyed
(I also really liked Scars of Dracula---because Lee actually got to play Dracula in it and not someone totally devoid of the character's traits as in previous films)

I do enjoy other Hammer vehicles....but when you are getting into gratuitous soft core pronography just to get someone to watch your movie, you've lost what you originally had. They originally had Sex appeal with class, great story and cast, terrific soundtracks, rich colors and terrific art direction, etc..... and traded it in exchange for more concentration of boobies and booty, and a focus of making everything "Satanic". Because Satanism was all the rage in the 1970's for some reason,lol. Not trying to sound overly prudish---but has there ever really been a shortage of booby and booty flicks? I think not,lol. Hammer equated to Gothic Horror in its hey day and threw it all away just to be "one of the guys" of the 70's.

I cannot tell you how many Amicus films I watched growing up, thinking they were Hammer pictures. They seem to have captured what Hammer pitched to the curb. Even though many of their films weren't period pieces at all. There will always be a demand for well done Horror films that arent overly gore filled (althoguh I do like some modern horror films with gore a plenty), and rely on atmosphere, great story, good casting, and plot. Amicus filled that niche when Hammer left it. Now---it appears--Hammer has gone back to its roots more or less with the re-makes of 'Let me In" and "The Woman in Black". God---I am long winded.