Rent Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)

Last Rites. - Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell review by Steve

This is the final release of legendary Hammer director Terence Fisher and the last of the studio's seven Frankenstein films. The credits still name-check Mary Shelley, and this is mostly a quick shuffle of the familiar motifs. The series had run out of new ideas, but it's still a reasonable variation on the classic tale.

The budget is either much smaller than the old days, or the crew are weary of making the most from not much. The lighting, models and sets are cursory and the monster is especially woeful. David Prowse can't be seen under his rubber costume that took minutes to zip up rather than the traditional hours in makeup.

And Peter Cushing's wig is infamous. This time the Baron is locked up in the madhouse, where he sets up a makeshift laboratory and gets up to his old tricks with body parts of the criminally insane, assisted by a posh medic played by Shane Briant whose luxuriant barnet is more Carnaby Street than gothic horror.

Madeline Smith plays a mute, as if to restate her decorative status. The series ends not with a bang or a whimper, but with forbearance as the formula holds up for anyone not in search of novelty. Cushing is now an old man, but still gives a performance. By the way, three years later, he and Prowse reunite in Star Wars!