The third time out proved an odd but serviceable entry. It was also the first in the Hammer Frankenstein series to utterly disregard the previous films.
We begin with the good Baron (Peter Cushing) attempting to recreate his previous experiment only for his efforts to be ruined by the village priest. Frustrated and needing more money to continue, the Baron and his assistant Hans (Sandor Eles) decide to go back to the Baron's old homestead of Karlstaad, despite the Baron's being officially exiled.
There is lies the film's problem with the narrative and special effects. We flashback to the Baron's first experiment (Kiwi Kingston), a crudely patched together monstrosity. His rampage, however, consisted of a few killed sheep and some spooked farmers. A few bullets to the head and a fall off a cliff later, the Baron is kicked out of town.
He returns, however, to find his ancestral manor stripped clean of anything valuable. Thankfully he returns during a festival, so the arrival of two more men arouses nothing. Their cover is quickly blown when the Baron notices the Burgomaster (David Hutcheson) wearing his ring. One tavern brawl later, and the Baron and Hans are forced to hide in the tent of hypnotist Professor Zoltan (Peter Woodthrope). Their disguises work, however but the authorities figure out who they are when the Baron breaks into the Burgomaster's house to try and recover his furniture. The castle now out of the question, the Baron and Hans are forced to flee into the mountains, where they encounter a deaf-mute beggar (Katy Wild) and the Baron's creature frozen in ice.
After a few days they decide to risk going back to the castle with the creature in tow. With mysteriously procured equipment they bring the creature back to life, but it's so brain damaged as to still be dead. Deciding to use the aide of Zoltan, they get the hypnotist to bring the creature back to waking life. Zoltan, on the other hand, sees this as the perfect opportunity to get himself some revenge on the townsfolk who ran him out of business.
With Zoltan's control over the monster growing and the Baron's natural tendencies for attracting torch wielding mobs, can Hans and the girl escape?
Not terrible, but it goes too close to the Universal mold for my liking. Cushing's Baron has lost his ruthlessness, so the title is a bit misleading. Not a terrible film, but certainly a disappointing one.
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