Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)

dir Terence Fisher cast Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, Madeline Smith, David Prowse

Simon Helder, a young 19^th Century German doctor, is convicted of sorcery for attempting to revive the dead. Sent to the same asylum for the criminally insane as was Dr. Frankenstein, he hopes to meet his idol, but is told that the Baron is dead. Helder soon learns, however, that Frankenstein is not only very much alive, but has taken over the asylum. Despite the fact that the fire at the end of Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed has rendered his hands useless for surgery, he is attempting to carry on his experiments with the help of the beautiful Sarah, an elective mute. Frankenstein, calling himself “Dr. Victor”, accepts Helder as his assistant. The young doctor learns that Frankenstein has revived the body of a brutish murderer who died by suicide, and plans to harvest necessary replacement parts, including a brain, from other inmates. His plans for Sarah, however, lead Helder to question the Baron’s sanity.

Hammer’s last gothic horror film, this does not quite measure up to their best, but still is worthy. Cushing gives another outstanding performance as Victor Frankenstein, projecting strength and authority in his early scenes, but soon showing signs of an irreversible instability. As always, Cushing is magnetic, making us care about a quite unlovable character. Smith (better here than as Ingrid Pitt’s love slave in The Vampire Lovers (1970)) and Briant provide able support. David Prowse does well as the creature for this outing, giving some pathos to his role as a genius trapped in an ugly, subhuman hulk of a body. As usual for Hammer, the film’s production designs, sets, and costumes are outstanding, lending an authentic air to a fantastic story.

On the other hand, the film is badly let down by the design of the monster. Asking us to accept the hairy, apelike figure as a human body stretches credulity a bit too far. The monster makeup is obviously just that and does not lend itself to suspension of disbelief (according to Tom Johnson and Deborah Del Vecchio’s excellent Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography, it was imposed on Fisher because of a promise made to the American distributors). The exterior cutaways to the asylum building are of a laughably obvious model. And, as with many Hammer Films, it doesn’t pay to examine the plot too closely.

Still, this is a worthy finale for a great series. In the 1970’s, Hammer desperately tried to tinker with their formula for the Dracula series, updating it to the present (Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972); The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1974)) and even trying to marry it with the trendy Kung Fu genre (The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)). But, with the Frankenstein series, Hammer stuck with what they did best: atmospheric, Victorian-era Gothic horror. Cushing’s performance adds a note of poignancy to the film. Although the ending is left open for further sequels, it is obvious that Frankenstein is insane, and that he will never be accepted by the world in which he lives. It’s a sad goodbye to the character, as well as the studio.

Trivia Note: As fans of fantastic films will no doubt be aware, Cushing and Prowse reunited three years later, to portray (with an assist from James Earl Jones) the primary villains in Star Wars (1977).

Virgin Witch (1972)

dir. Ray Autin cast Ann Michelle, Vicki Michelle, Keith Buckley, Patricia Haines, James Chase, Paula Wright

Christine and Betty (Ann and Vicki Michelle), two 20-ish miniskirted sisters, are alone in London after leaving a repressive home life under the control of their strict father. Christine goes to see Sybil Waite (Haines), one of London's top modelling agents, and seems to be in luck when a last-minute job opens up and all the other models are booked. She agrees to go with Sybil to a remote manor out in the English countryside for the weekend while Betty tags along. However, all is not as it seems; Sybil is part of a coven of witches that may have designs on both sisters. You may think you know where this is going, but things take a very unexpected turn which I will not reveal.

An erotic horror fantasy, with the emphasis definitely on sex rather than blood, Virgin Witch demonstrates why British low-budget horror films were often so much more entertaining than their American counterparts. For one thing, the availability of old estates on which to film gave even the cheapest films a professional look and made it possible to create a creepy atmosphere without a ton of money to spend. The old house in Virgin Witch, hemmed in by a thick forest, seems lonely and sinister and does lend a hint of grim foreboding to the proceedings. Also, the acting in low-budget British films was usually superior to the acting in American B films. There is no one on the level of a Peter Cushing or Barbara Steele in this film, but all the main cast members are perfectly accomplished. The acting does not get in the way of the story.

Virgin Witch is actually more of a sex film than a horror film. It is literally bloodless, with a very low body count. The witches actually don't seem all that evil; their rituals don't invoke Satan or use Satanic trappings and they don't seem to have any kind of agenda that involves bothering anyone outside their coven. In fact, their rituals seem to mostly involve their leader having sex with a willing young (but not underage) woman on an altar, while the other members of the coven dance around naked.

There is a lot of nudity in this film. Both Michelle sisters are astonishingly gorgeous, and both, especially Ann, have abundant nude scenes. In fact, Ann's naked torso is the first thing seen in the film, backgrounding the title. It seems that Christine is being set up to be the victim throughout much of the film, but she never loses her confident demeanor and we always get the feeling she's not as helpless as she seems. Its a good performance and she's fun to watch, even when she's not nude.

Phil Hardy's Encyclopedia of Horror Movies, compares Virgin Witch favorably to Hammer's Karnstein films. I agree that it's better than the silly Lust for a Vampire, but not as good as The Vampire Lovers. In the end, Virgin Witch is light on horror content, even when compared to other non-gory horrors such as Let's Scare Jessica to Death. Most of the horror is in the coven's rituals (which, for some reason, involve the demonic mask from the Japanese film Onibaba!), but they are not violent or terribly frightening.  Virgin Witch is not some kind of landmark of low-budget horror film making, but it's still well-made enough to be worth seeing.