Hot Take: Horror films in The 1950s weren’t well-written. They’re miserably boring, lack tension, little to no antagonist, forgettable characters etc. One in particular produced by Hammer Films is a retelling of “Frankenstein” starring Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee titled, “The Curse of Frankenstein.”Released in 1957, (same year Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood came out) the first horror flick produced by Hammer Films became a commercial hit. Followed by six sequels spanning from 1958–1974 along with films centering on other iconic monsters including Dracula & The Mummy.
Anyway, I have one reason why I wanna review The Curse of Frankenstein. Christian Bale will portray The Monster in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s upcoming “The Bride.” It’ll be released on March 6, 2026. I’m setting my expectations low. Last time I watched an underwhelming Frankenstein movie was Guillermo Del Toro’s remake on Netflix. Wasn’t as good as most people claim.
It doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are mentioned. It’s not a good Frankenstein movie.
Alive & Dead Qualities
Alive: Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee both did a decent job for their respective performances.
Prosthetic Makeup transformed Mr. Lee into The Monster. Rather than reusing Boris Karloff’s design, this version has a different appearance. Robert De Niro’s portrayal in Kenneth Branagh’s iteration gave him a grotesque look.
Costumes and Set Pieces were manually crafted by decorators.
Cinematography’s shot in stable condition.
Victor utters out the infamous line, “It’s alive” upon resurrecting a dog.
Chemistry between Victor and Paul serves as the main highlight.
Fun Facts
- Both, Peter & Christopher became good friends in real life.
- Victor bringing a dead dog to life predates Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie.”
Random Thoughts
- First time I heard about The Curse of Frankenstein was from Angry Video Game Nerd/James Wolfe. He talked about the Hammer Horror Series. Praised The Curse of Frankenstein. He’s a clueless idiot. Why? Because he dislikes modern classics, “The Dark Knight Trilogy,” “Pulp Fiction” & “The Big Lebowski.” AVGN humiliated himself. That troglodyte should stick to video games.
- One reviewer, BloggedByEric gave it an 8/10. When I read his review, my eyes were rolling. I’m shocked he’s never a real horror flick like “Jacob Ladder” with Tim Robbins.
Dead: Terence Fisher didn’t do a good job directing.
Jimmy Sangster didn’t do so well writing the script.
Characters like the Baron and Justine are forgettable.
Scare Factor lacks terror. You know what actually scary? Wanda Sykes posing nude for Playboy.
The Monster himself doesn’t appear until 49 minutes in. That’s a huge chunk for an hour-and-half movie. Imagine if Ghostface from “Scream” didn’t appeared until the second half? Would that work? No! I don’t see Sidney Prescott and her pals attending high school in the first act.
Pacing’s a drab. I wasn’t fully invested in the story. I was miserably bored. Ugh! I’d rather watch Alyson Stoner entertaining the troops performing some dance numbers.
A flashback scene with Young Victor who looks nothing like Peter Cushing. The casting director was so lazy he didn’t find somebody who resembles him.
This version doesn’t faithfully follow the novel. For instance, The Monster never said a word. Anna Paquin had more dialogue in “The Irishman.”
The Final Verdict: F, FOR FAKER!
Sorry folks, The Curse of Frankenstein doesn’t hold up. I really wanted to like this iteration given Martin Scorsese, Guillermo Del Toro & Tim Burton are huge fan of Hammer Horror, but this one didn’t stick the landing for me. Personally, I’m not a big fan of old school horror from the 1930-1960s. I prefer 1990s-Modern horror. If you wanna see an actual good Frankenstein movie, check out Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 version. If you wanna see a legit modern horror film, I highly recommend “Sinners” or “The Substance.” I’m on the fence with The Bride! Will it be a hit or dud? Only time will tell.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 