It’s Hammer Time Presents: The Evil of Frankenstein (1964, Freddie Francis)

Although building on the previous entries in the series, The Evil of Frankenstein is in many ways a stand alone movie. It also feels a bit like a remake since Universal Studios finally gave Hammer Studios the rights to their Frankenstein franchise. Which is why the monster in this film resembles the famous version from the James Whale films. By this point the Baron is in desperate need of funds so he returns home with his assistant Hans in tow, to seek out his home and use what lies within to enable him to continue his research.

While I dug the opening sequence and I found the evil hypnotist, Zoltan, to be a good aspect of the film I was mostly left disappointed. Francis clearly has talent but he isn’t given much to work with here. This entry fails to offer anything new and is saved from being completely dull by Peter Cushing, who by this point was able to play Frankenstein in his sleep. However this is not a bad film, and I liked the ending. It’s just that compared to the other Hammer Frankenstein movies its a pale imitation. I’m not even sure Terence Fisher could have saved this film.