The Horror of Frankenstein, produced and directed by Welsh screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, plays a part in the collection of the Hammer Studios Series. The film was released on November 8th, 1970. The Horror of Frankenstein is considered a remake and parody of The Curse of Frankenstein (1957). The film had a budget of two hundred thousand pounds.
Movie poster for The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/ajOCEytEDjPvXya0D7vW3L9zRED.jpg
Synopsis[]
Victor Frankenstein rigs a gun to explode, and his father dies as a result. Frankenstein then inherits the title of Baron. After his father's death, Victor leaves for Vienna to attend college, where he becomes infatuated with reanimating life.
Major Themes []
Mad Scientist[]
A pertinent theme evident in The Horror of Frankenstein is the mad scientist. Victor Frankenstein pushes the boundaries of science. He arguably seems mad due to his psychopathic tendencies, which Wilhelm, Frankenstein's assistant, calls to light early on in the film. It seems that nothing will stand in the way of Frankenstein's psychological need to fabricate and reanimate a dead human being. He kills one of the stage coach bandits unnecessarily when holding them at gun point. He hires a grave robber to bring him dead bodies. Frankenstein kills Wilhelm once Wilhelm threatens to expose Frankenstein's work to the public eye. Frankenstein unleashes the uncontrollable creation out into the world to wreak havoc and bring murder to the local towns people.
Youth Immortality[]
Another theme present in the film is youth immortality or innocence of youth. It seems particularly relevant to this adaptation. A popular theme in most horror related films is the ongoing idea that innocence, in the form of youth, tends to escape the fate of death. In this film, after breaking out of the castle for a second time, the creature wanders into a small house where a young girl sleeps. The creature awakens and scares the girl. The young girl doesn't die, but with the help of her father, she leads the authorities up the road to Frankenstein's castle.
Reception []
The reception of the film was panned by most. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film was rated fifty percent, which falls under the rotten rating. Filmmaker Jimmy Sangster included a great deal of irony and black humor under the cover of the Gothic horror label. Some considered this Hammer film the least significant out of many Frankenstein adaptations from the Hammer series.
Significance of Adaptation[]
The Horror of Frankenstein plays a part as one of the films included in the British Hammer film series. The Hammer Film horror brand created films based around creatures such as Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy. The Horror of Frankenstein was considered a general remake of The Curse of Frankenstein, though many considered the remake a huge flop in comparison. One characteristic associated with Hammer films was gore and blood. These films generally never showed gruesome violence, but rather alluded to death or suggested that death would, or had, happened.
References[]
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_horror_of_frankenstein_1971/#contentReviews
http://www.allmovie.com/movie/v23156
http://movies.film-cine.com/the-horror-of-frankenstein-m2110