Having been disappointed with Universal's Frankenstein (1931), I was hoping that Hammer's Frankenstein Created Woman might tell the second half of Mary Shelly's excellent book. Admittedly I haven't seen Hammer's The Curse of Frankenstein, but as FCW also stars Peter Cushing, I was hopeful. This optimism was sadly misplaced. "Woman" is created (completely off screen, we don't see a thing) from a girl who drowns herself because she's has just seen her lover guillotined for a crime he didn't commit. Oh, and she now has the brain of said guillotined lover! Queue some revenge killing against the toffs who initially framed lover boy.
It all sounds a bit Young Frankenstein, and it is. Despite not really connecting with James Whale's film, at least there were great sets, tremendous lighting and a dramatic creation scene. There is none of that here. It's a point and shoot film with no obvious creative vision, no "It's Alive!" scene, and a ludicrous plot. Peter Cushing does his best, and his complete disregard for anyone’s feelings and his contempt for superstitious folk (as long as his research is undisturbed) is fun, but it's not enough. Where Christopher Lee is able to rescue Rasputin: The Mad Monk by chewing the scenery, Cushing’s more reserved style isn’t enough to animate the lifeless body of FCW. But, well, you know, that’s just, like, er, my opinion, man.
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