🎃 - The Evil of Frankenstein (3/5)

 The bungling error of humanizing Frankenstein too much and retconning the previous history of the last two films sort of leaves "The Evil of Frankenstein" (1964) adrift to exist on its own. A greedy, vengeful hypnotist named Zoltan, instead, is served as the replacement heavy, using the scientist's monster to kill those he considers worthy of punishment for his banishment from Karlsbaad. You get Frankenstein telling his newest ally, an assistant named Hans, a different history, one set to machinery, lightning, and a laboratory modeled after the Universal Studios, giving "The Evil of Frankenstein" a particular feel unlike any other due to availability thanks to a distribution deal Hammer had with the great Hollywood studio. The look of Frankenstein's monster and how he was brought to life quite familiar because it was as if Cushing got the chance to model himself somewhat after Colin Clive's Henry Frankenstein. Victor spends a lot of time frustrated and outcrying, "Why won't they just leave me alone?!" If not for their interference and always either stopping him during the process of working on his experiments or firing upon his "man made from bodies taken from graves", Victor Frankenstein could actually find success. Whether in a cottage with whatever parts he could find to build his machinery in order to make a beating heart pump or at his chateau under disarray and pillage due to exile and robbery, Victor Frankenstein seemed to always endure handcuffs and obstruction, never allowed to create life, study that creation, make his notes, and monitor that creation as it (he?) evolves. Granted, typically Victor's creations break from their lab, rampage through the nearby countryside, and eventually come across locals (law enforcement) causing setbacks and even arrest. Each and every time Victor gets close, oh so close, he's denied true satisfaction as a scientist. Clergy, burgomasters, officers of the law, hypnotists, and even his own assistants have challenged Victor's ability to reach any sort of pointed destination. In this film's case, similar to Christopher Lee's monster, Kiwi's Karloff-like, big-forehead monster in black costume is shot in the head by a rifle, resulting in brain trauma. And much like Lee's monster, Kiwi's Karloff monster is unable to be "repaired" by Victor Frankenstein. No matter how much Victor Frankenstein vows to "beat them", he never does. Interference always wins out in the end. But Victor Frankenstein's creations too often have flaws he cannot prepare for and, too often, the brilliant, obsessive scientist encounters hardships and unpredictable behavior that brings harm to himself. 

While this film jettisons continuity and totally alters the personality of Victor Frankenstein, the similarities to Universal's Frankenstein series (even the monster is found by Victor in a cavernous glacier and lightning is a natural life-giving force he depends on to "reawaken" the monster) really captivate me as a horror fan and lover of those old films.