Frankenstein 80 (1975)

Peter Cushing plays Doctor Lawrence a former priest who harbors a dark and horrible secret in his attic. The dark and dirty locked room serves as a prison cell for his crazed, cannibalistic adult son, who acquired his savage tastes in India during his father's missionary work there. Doctor Lawrence's is on high alert, as he fears that his son will escape to prey upon the guests at his rural English estate during a cross-country auto race over the weekend.

Missing minutes

Frankenstein 80 it isn't. According to the opening credits it was made in 1974.

Apparently there is a 93 minute version of this film somewhere; this runs at about 85 mins, as does the cut I have, except that it was released in the UK as "The Ghoul". As it transpires, the unfortunate creature of the title role, does his slayings within the confines of a quaint and cursed country cottage, surrounded by a foggy twilight. There aren't any night scenes. How about calling it " Foggy Day Of The Ghoul" instead.

If your an avid fan of Hammer films , this will probably amuse you somewhat; if you don't much care for them, you'll be wasting your time on this one. (This isn't made by Hammer, yet principle people involved in it's making were at the heart of that company, now many moons gone).

The story line( I'll try not to bore you, if I havn't already) as it appeared to me is as follows: Young couples, by way of a car race, unwittingly and unconvincingly get lost somewhere in rural England. They conveniently end up in the vicinity of a sinister lodge, where unhappy endings are imminent for the cast list. "Do you realize your trespassing, what is it you want here?". This is Peter Cushing's first line of dialogue, to a fleeing blond damsel, played by Veronica Carlson( She was in a few Hammer films, prior to this).

Worship of Kali takes place adjacent to a Christian chapel. Mr. Cushing's character had an unpleasant time in Colonial India, perhaps the theme of this derives from an indictment of the evils of the British Empire. You might know what I mean if you can be bothered to consider it, after you've seen this film as many time as I have; I am guilty of enjoying it.

It was directed by Freddie Francis, who doesn't need an introduction to those of you, who'll be keen to take a look at this flick. It was scripted by James Elder( yet another Hammer patriarch). Also John Hurt gives a lively performance as the resident lunatic.

It is full of endearing cliches of the genre: in one segment of the soundtrack we have Bach's" Toccata and Fugue", Mr. Cushing playing the violin, something lurks in a room at the top of the stairs, a hopelessly unhelpful policeman with a bicycle, and body chopping. Yet while the gruesomeness of this expurgated version is tame, (when you consider all those zombie & slasher flicks made before and since) it is nonetheless unpleasant in parts, for me anyway, it could be called a tragedy in a number of ways, & no less comic.

In the last instance the dialogue alone, will amuse you I reckon if you've enjoyed other films by the people I've mentioned. It could be classified as macabre, but if you watch films with lurid titles, hoping for gore and a scare, I think you'll be disappointed by this.
September 30, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...