For their fourth Frankenstein movie, the folks at Hammer have come up with the novel (and cheaper) twist of having the doctor's latest creation presented as a beautiful, buxom female. No disfigured, staggering, stitched-together monster here.... just a blonde bombshell out on a jolly weekend killing spree! The series comprised of seven films in total, and in retrospect it's pretty clear that this is the most unique and unorthodox of the lot. Having said that, it would be inaccurate to say that it is one of the best. OK, the storyline may be more intriguing than usual, but there is still the problem that some of the "science" is decidedly silly, and at certain points the narrative slows down to a crawl.
Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) is busy experimenting with the idea of capturing a soul before it leaves the body of a dead person. He has calculated that souls do not leave at the exact moment of death, but stick around until over an hour later. Frankenstein is determined to "catch" a departing soul using a machine he has invented. He then hopes to store the captured soul until he can find a body to put it into! He gets his chance when one of his young associates, the simple-minded Hans (Robert Morris), is falsely accused of murder and sentenced to death at the guillotine. During the execution, Hans's lover Christina (Susan Denberg) is so overcome with grief that she throws herself into a nearby river and drowns. Frankenstein successfully captures Hans's soul as it leaves his decapitated corpse. He then transfers it into Christina's body. Trapped within this female body, Hans's soul still lives on, determined to exact revenge upon the trio of murderers who framed him for a killing that he did not commit....
On the whole, Frankenstein Created Woman is an enjoyable horror flick, but it very rarely generates genuine chills. There IS one gruesome sequence in which Christina keeps Hans's severed head in her room and converses with it about their next move (!) Apart from that, however, the film is relatively tame in terms of fear, gore and suspense. The pleasure comes instead from watching the cast do their thing, especially Cushing, who now sports streaks of grey hair at his temples that make his appearance more spine-tingling than ever. Also good are Thorley Walters as Cushing's befuddled sidekick, and Peter Blythe as Anton, the most despicable of the three unpleasant killers. The film's production values are pretty good, with an atmospheric laboratory setting, plus some other effective - if limited - interiors and exteriors. For fans of the Hammer style, this is a must.... but others will probably find sufficient charm and nostalgia on display to enjoy it too.
Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) is busy experimenting with the idea of capturing a soul before it leaves the body of a dead person. He has calculated that souls do not leave at the exact moment of death, but stick around until over an hour later. Frankenstein is determined to "catch" a departing soul using a machine he has invented. He then hopes to store the captured soul until he can find a body to put it into! He gets his chance when one of his young associates, the simple-minded Hans (Robert Morris), is falsely accused of murder and sentenced to death at the guillotine. During the execution, Hans's lover Christina (Susan Denberg) is so overcome with grief that she throws herself into a nearby river and drowns. Frankenstein successfully captures Hans's soul as it leaves his decapitated corpse. He then transfers it into Christina's body. Trapped within this female body, Hans's soul still lives on, determined to exact revenge upon the trio of murderers who framed him for a killing that he did not commit....
On the whole, Frankenstein Created Woman is an enjoyable horror flick, but it very rarely generates genuine chills. There IS one gruesome sequence in which Christina keeps Hans's severed head in her room and converses with it about their next move (!) Apart from that, however, the film is relatively tame in terms of fear, gore and suspense. The pleasure comes instead from watching the cast do their thing, especially Cushing, who now sports streaks of grey hair at his temples that make his appearance more spine-tingling than ever. Also good are Thorley Walters as Cushing's befuddled sidekick, and Peter Blythe as Anton, the most despicable of the three unpleasant killers. The film's production values are pretty good, with an atmospheric laboratory setting, plus some other effective - if limited - interiors and exteriors. For fans of the Hammer style, this is a must.... but others will probably find sufficient charm and nostalgia on display to enjoy it too.