Terror of Frankenstein

This very sober and (comparatively speaking) faithful adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel stints on the usual horror aspects, but isn't that compelling on subtler psychological or dramatic terms to compensate. Per Oscarsson, cast as the re-animated "monster," is a fine actor who'd been extraordinary in Swedish classics like "Hunger." But even though the movie spends more time detailing the monster's cruel education in "humanity" than most, he still isn't allowed the depth needed to give a fully dimensionalized performance. (It doesn't help that Per isn't much tricked-out in makeup terms beyond black lipstick, and is forced to speak phonetic English.) Plus the desired pathos falls short, not to mention the expected suspense or shock value this film utterly fails to achieve. Nonetheless, it's watchable as a rare serious stab at addressing the novel rather than simply exploiting its cinematic heritage. The scenery is spectacular, the performances decent, the direction intelligently measured if lacking real atmosphere or excitement. I appreciated it--just wish it were better.

Though it's been a number of years since I've seen this movie, it still leaves an impression as the best and most faithful adaption of Mary Shelley's wonderful book. The two leads were very well cast. It's a shame no one else I know has seen it. This film is way better than Branagh's "rock and roll" version (even though DeNiro was great as the monster).

TERROR OF FRANKENSTEIN (1975) * (D: Calvin Floyd) - aka VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN; a faithful adaption of the original novel which defies you to stay awake. The monster is decidedly quite non-monstrous. Excruciatingly boring.

1976's "Terror of Frankenstein," more commonly known under original title "Victor Frankenstein," does indeed focus more on the scientist, played as a medical student by 27 year old Leon Vitali, though the accolades clearly belong to Swedish actor Per Oscarsson as The Monster. Director Calvin Floyd had already done the feature length documentary "In Search of Dracula," in which Christopher Lee doubled as both narrator and real life Vlad Tepes, so his take on Mary Shelley purported to be at least as faithful to its literary source as Michael Sarrazin's "Frankenstein: The True Story," both versions concluding in the Arctic wasteland. Frankenstein shares his tale of woe with the captain of a ship caught in the ice, how his obsession with conquering death meant a desire to find the secret of life. His education required months away from his family in Geneva, experimenting on animals until he found a suitable human body to meet his goal; horrified at the sight of his newborn creation, Victor abandons his ambitions to return home, unaware that The Monster will follow to seek revenge for a lifetime of loneliness. Coming upon Victor's younger brother, its attempt to reach out for a potential friend is dashed once he learns the boy's identity, leaving the corpse in the snow to remind Frankenstein of the wrong he had committed. The Monster reveals himself to his creator to explain how he learned to speak and reason, demanding a mate to ease his burden in solitude far away from humanity. Victor's inability to follow through proves the final straw for his embittered antagonist: "I will be with you on your wedding night." On location shooting in Ireland does not compensate for an excruciatingly slow pace, a full half hour buildup to Per Oscarsson's first appearance, merely the barebones of Shelley's story to be played out for another hour in entirely predictable fashion. This was Vitali's only starring role (just his third feature film), his performance little different from the insufferable Lord Bullingdon in Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon," a wholly weak central character that utterly fails to engage, quick to give up at the first sign of trouble, a literal harbinger of death to all his loved ones. Per Oscarsson uses his great height and minimal makeup to ably portray Shelley's creature as it was on the printed page, soft spoken, less verbose but more effective. His features are easily visible, hardly a fearsome visage with his blackened lips and eager to please demeanor, not as sympathetic as past Monsters but still fascinating. Floyd's double bill of Frankenstein and Dracula both found US release through Al Adamson's Independent-International, likely less successful at the box office as Paul Naschy titles "Frankenstein's Bloody Terror" or "Night of the Howling Beast." Its small cast and obvious low budget need not be a detriment, Per Oscarsson offering the only reason to view this forgotten version of an oft told tale, sadly yet aptly named for its defeatist protagonist.

The first time I saw this movie was when I was eleven...; my father said to me " both the cast and director are unknown, but see it...". He was right; this is a peacefully film, full of landscapes and brilliant moments... Per Oscarsson is a big-heart monster, sometimes sober, sometimes frightening... I think that is the best of all Frankensteins, because is ACTUALLY accurate to the novel...Calvin Floyd tries to make a different and real(real here means "the tale written by Mary Shelley")Frankenstein, and he doesn´t fail... So is very far from Whale, Branagh(what a catastrophe he made!) and of course, Warhol.