The first sequel to the Curse of Frankenstein takes off where the original ended; the good doctor has been sentenced for the deaths caused by his creation and sent to the guillotine. But in a random turn of events a lab assistant (who did not feature at all in the first story) helps him escape. Under the oh so-clever pseudonym Dr. Stein he then continues his work by opening up a new practice... which of course provides the means to maintain a hidden laboratory. It's all done in secret because somehow the 'monster' he created seems to be public knowledge... despite nobody believing him and all the evidence being lost. How did the story get out? Who is he taking revenge on? This isn't a film focused on logic.
There's a definite shift in tone in comparison to the original. It's noticeable as soon as Hammer stalwart Michael Ripper arrives in a brief opening role as a grave robber. They've suddenly decided to give this all a new sense of humour, which works in its favour. It seems as though every other scene has one or more odd character actor or some silly kind of eccentric dialogue; from the main helper in Victor's poor house surgery to the eccentric mother who visits his upper class office. In spite of the subject matter there is a sense of levity throughout which is highlighted by the final shot of the film. It's a welcome layer of character in a story that is filled with all the usual tropes.
However this isn't to say the storyline is totally absurd. The plot itself concerns transplanting a crippled man's mind into a new 'perfect' body, which is interesting and avoids another monster built from spare parts. His conflict as a new man faced with the idea of being a university side show works well, avoiding the monster rampage scenes. For a while at least. The inevitable degeneration doesn't have a lot of internal logic involved, besides something about an ape test subject becoming cannibalistic, but it's all entertaining enough. Peter Cushing is still great as are other familiar faces Michael Gwynne as his creation and Francis Matthews as a fellow doctor. The locations and set pieces are a step up from the original and the pacing is better, so on the whole it makes a worthwhile companion piece.
4/5
After this Hammer made The Evil of Frankenstein, losing continuity so they could finally add elements from the Universal Era. It's an odd movie involving a hypnotist and a monster made of paper mache... but that's a story for another time. Instead let's move on to a later feature which isn't really a sequel but stands alone. Frankenstein Created Woman sees the titular scientist try his hand at something new, the transfer of a person's soul into a new body. The metaphysical setup is pretty good, and the opening involving Cushing freezing himself to test how long the human body can withstand 'death' is a lot of fun thanks to a great lab set and Thorley Walters as his new helper Dr. Herz.
However there are issues that start to come along once the real plot takes off, and with the signs this will just be a simple revenge story. Hans, Frankenstein's other companion, is a hot tempered youth who gets involved with a group of rich brats. They apparently get all their kicks tormenting the landlord of the only pub in town because of his disfigured daughter Christina. The over acting from these villains is entertaining and works by itself as a catalyst, but once it becomes clear that Hans will become framed for a murder, based almost entirely on his father's criminal history, things are too predictable. Hans and Christina are simply here as victims so that Frankenstein can find an excuse to prove his new theories.
The laboratory scenes as usual are a highlight, particularly the soul capturing machinery which offers a lot of great visuals. But once the gag of the 'monster' being a mysterious and beautiful girl arrives they don't really have much for her to do, besides cause of a few unimaginative deaths. It feels like they came up with the idea just for the poster art. The idea of transplanting someone's soul is just a split personality plot and the revenge scenes could have been far more creative. Frankenstein himself is strangely subdued by now instead of being openly callous. There are some good moments as he belittles the local peasants but the calculating ego maniac has gone. Overall it has its moments, but this isn't an essential entry to the series.
3/5
