This third film in Universal Studios' classic Frankenstein series sees the son of the infamous Dr. Frankenstein travel to his European homeland to take possession of his birthright - the family castle, the laboratory, and the legacy of horror.
Baron Wolf Von Frankenstein (played by Basil Rathbone before his lengthy run as Sherlock Holmes) succumbs rather easily to the allure of his late father's terrible experiment when the mysterious and deformed Ygor (Béla Lugosi) shows him the body of the dormant monster (Boris Karloff). A few jolts of electricity to the monster's neck later, and Wolf comes to learn that the nearby villagers have good reason to hate his family name as the monster is up and killing again. Wouldn't you know it?
This second sequel has a lightness and humor to it that is charming and unexpected. It's fun to watch Baron Frankenstein sprint off to the lab in mid-conversation as he tries to protect his family while preventing tbe one-armed police inspector (a victim of the monster's earlier attacks) from discovering that he has followed in his father's ghastly footsteps. The villagers' joyful send-off when the Frankenstein family leaves town is a stitch. There is even a humorous nod to the real-world confusion over whether the monster himself should be called Frankenstein.
The sly humor and crisp dialogue can largely be attributed to the script by Wyllis Cooper, creator of the horror radio program Lights Out - a radio predecessor to comics like Tales From The Crypt in both its anthology horror format and the tongue-in-cheek comedy that tempers the terror.
The cast is top notch, the script is solid, and the special makeup effects (especially Ygor's broken neck) are good throughout. The cinematography and sets are terrific; the asymmetrical doorways and odd angular shadows in the corridors call back to the German expressionist movies that influenced the first Frankenstein film. All-in-all, while it may not reach the heights of the first two movies in the series, Son Of Frankenstein is very well made and worth seeking out.
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