Once again a village is assaulted by monsters. The town is called Frankenstein and those guys are wandering around up in the castle. Soon a lightning storm causes our boy to go berserk. There are numerous Frankenstein related characters that populate this one, including the great Lon Chaney, Jr. who give this rendition of the monster. Lugosi is there as is the inimitable Lionel Atwell. The story is a bit rambling and not as atmospheric as many of the others. It is still part of the canon and that makes it worthwhile. Modern producers are often vilified for not coming up with new and original subject matter. Well, they were already doing that in the thirties and forties.

Universal Pictures couldn't let a good thing go following the release of the first three Frankenstein movies. This was the first film to follow in the tradition of "Frankenstein" and it's sequels "Bride of Frankenstein" and "Son of Frankenstein". It's been a while since I've seen those, so catching this one today wasn't as jarring by way of comparison. I thought it was fairly entertaining, made particularly so with the various debates over who's brain was going to go into the Monster.The film has a great moody and atmospheric opening, reminiscent more of the original "The Wolf Man" than of the prior Frankenstein flicks. Taking an adrenaline inducing booster shot from a lightning bolt, the Monster is revived from a cement encased tomb to live again, contrary to past continuity, but that never seemed to be a consideration in this franchise. Interestingly, the first time Lon Chaney Jr. appeared as the creature, he resembled the Karloff Frankenstein pretty closely, but as the picture progressed, the facial features of the Monster began to resemble Chaney's own appearance more and more. I thought that was kind of interesting.Considering the Frankenstein name and legacy in the story, I thought Lionel Atwill had a fairly major presence here as Doctor Theodore Bohmer. Personally, I thought the switcheroo with who's brain went into the Monster was handled kind of clumsily, though Ygor's (Bela Lugosi) rationale made sense in a dubious sort of way. He was going for the immortality thing but should have figured things don't always turn out as planned. But then again, he was Ygor, so he probably wasn't thinking of unintended consequences.I caught this on Turner Classics, hosted by film critic Ben Mankiewics, and he offered a cool insight into Chaney's role as the Monster. The actor had a bad reaction to his makeup at one point and needed a week off from filming to recuperate. But things got worse - remember that scene of the Monster encased in cement when he makes his revival? After taking hours to put that scene together, Chaney's patience got tested even more when the entire film crew broke for lunch!

The running gag is that the castle looks different in every version after "The Bride of Frankenstein"! More turrets on this one! Kind of predictable and slow moving. The destroyed miniatures look so fake. The monster has a worse haircut and a hairline that is more familiar here, and looks that way thru "A&C Meet Frankenstein". (The make-up process has obviously been "streamlined".) Too familiar. The monster falls in love with a little girl (again) but does not hurt her. Ygor has his brain put in the monster and indeed it talks and thinks like Ygor. A major disappointment. Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein willingly dies with the monster? It makes no sense at all. Many chances at "horror" are wasted: Ygor just dies under anesthesia? The transplant is not graphic and is barely shown at all! The "Ghost" of Dr. Wolf Frankenstein is unconvincing, and nobody other than Ludwig even sees it. Overall, The whole movie is just not evil, creepy, scary or hideous enough. Lon Chaney Jr. has the monster's swagger down pat but no character emotion to speak off. So many unanswered questions plague the later films: Does The Monster remain blind? (No). How come he speaks only on rare occasions? Luckily, the next two entries are actually far more entertaining,if not even more preposterous!

This a a sequel to Son of Frankenstein. It is a great movie. It has a great story line. It has great acting. It also has great special effects. Do not think because something is old that can not be good. This is one of the scariest movies ever made. It is very intense. Frankenstein meets the wolf man better. House of Frankenstein is also better. House of Dracula is also better. This is scarier then Frankenstein (1931). And very few movie are scarier then that one. It is scarier then The bride of Frankenstein. If this movie does not scar you then no movie will. This is scarier then Son of Frankenstein. The monster wants a new brain. So find the son of Doctor Frankenstein who is also a scientist. Very scary.