Horror Countdown 2016: Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)

Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) dir. Terrence Fischer, Hammer Film Productions

With Frankenstein's lab going up in smoke with his Monster in the last film, how could the dear doctor continue his work? By going back to what worked mostly.

Some time ago, a drunken man (Duncan Lamont) is being taken to the guillotine. He seems in fairly high spirits, all things considered. At least he is until he spies his son Hans watching from the bushes. Despite the man's pleas, Hans does witness his father's death.

Despite this, Hans grows into a strapping young man (Robert Morris) and is gainfully employed by the town doctor Dr. Hertz (Thorley Walters). Hertz himself is in thrall to the Baron (Peter Cushing) and the pair of them are helping the Baron with his latest experiment: successfully freezing and reviving the Baron after one hour in Hertz's deep freeze. The Baron theorizes that one could transfer one's soul to new body. Of course he'd need a subject to prove this theory... 

As Hans is off to fetch some celebratory drinks, we see the object of the young man's fancy. Christina (Susan Denberg), the innkeeper's daughter. Christina is a sweet gal, but she is saddled with a face full of scars and a few other deformed features. The latter are the subject of some amusement for three lads who have nothing better to do than drink and abuse those lower on the social order. Anton (Peter Blythe), Karl (Barry Warren) and Johann (Derek Fowlds) are all sons of the local gentry and they love nothing more than harassing people they know can't fight back. Hans, on the other hand, doesn't give a damn about social status and proceeds to thrash all three when they insult Christina in his presence.

This offends the lads, Anton most of all, so they decide to place a visit to the inn later that night and get their revenge by helping themselves to inn's wine cellar. When the innkeeper (Alan MacNaughtan) surprises them, they beat the old fellow to death and frame Hans for it.

Despite the weak evidence, Hans is found guilty and meets the same end as his father. Christina, arriving back in time to see the blade fall, drowns herself. The Baron, not wishing to let things go to waste, takes both bodies and perform a quick experiment on them. The newly fashioned Christina is free of any scars or pain, and has no memory of her past life. She also has Hans's voice in her head, directing her to kill the pompous dandies responsible for their troubles. Can the Baron keep his latest experiment in line as the bodies start piling up?

Even when the Dracula series grew stodgy, Cushing made the Frankenstein series work. His Baron carries himself above anything resembling morality and only sees to push science to the utter limit. Cushing makes the movie work. With every cutting remark and twitch, he expresses total contempt for everyone around him.