Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks

**_Two cavemen lurk in the caves near Frankenstein’s castle_** When this was shot there were already six Hammer Frankenstein films with only one more in the series to go. The best comparison would be “Lady Frankenstein,” which was shot 1½ years earlier. Like that one, it’s an Italian production, but with an international cast. Paul Naschy’s “Count Dracula’s Great Love” is another good parallel (despite being a vampire flick). While critics like to mock it as “the worst Frankenstein movie ever made,” there’s only one real ‘cheesy’ element, and that’s the curious inclusion of the caveman that the exiled dwarf befriends, named Ook. His animal skin outfit looks like it was bought at the local costume shop on clearance. The forehead make-up of the Frankenstein monster is also suspect. But, c’mon, this is a quickie Euro horror from the early ’70s. Speaking of the ‘monster,’ the idea of the Baron using a surviving Neanderthal from the Late Pleistocene Epoch for his experiments is at least creative. Other highlights include the lush colors, authentic castle settings and an all-around Scooby-Doo vibe, minus the dog and the teen sleuths. As far as the latter goes, there are two occasions where a portrait is used by people on the other side of the wall to spy on (potentially risqué) situations. Keep in mind that this was produced several years after Scooby-Doo debuted. The usual staples are present: Graverobbing, a hunchback assistant named Igor, beautiful maidens, diabolical laboratories, a village mob with torches, and so on. Speaking of beautiful maidens, Italian blonde Simonetta Vitelli is striking in the manner of Agnetha Fältskog from ABBA. This happened to be her final film. Christiane Rücker is also notable as Krista, a science student intrigued by Frankenstein’s genius, which makes for an interesting subplot. So, you can laugh at this production or roll with it as a free adaptation of Shelley’s iconic story. Either way, it entertains; and that’s the name of the game. As for those who say it’s “plotless,” I guess they don’t know what a plot is. It runs 1h 30m and was shot in late 1972/early 1973 at the Lazio region around Rome utilizing standing sets or historical villas. GRADE: B-