Written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley in 1818, Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus
was soon a massive hit on the stage, and when the 20th Century saw the
development of cinema, it quickly became one of the most frequently
told stories. From silent movie beginnings and a series of classic
films defined by Boris Karloff's performance, so definitive, that it
has supplanted Shelley's original vision in the minds of most readers,
the Frankenstein tale soon became fodder for some of the best, and worst, of exploitation cinema...
In
1816, Mary Shelley (at the time Mary Godwin) and her partner, the writer Percy Shelley were
staying along with Lord Byron in his villa by Lake Geneva. 1816 is
known as the year without a summer, as volcanic eruptions in South-East
Asia had filled the atmosphere with a layer of dust that caused
unseasonal snow in the middle of the year. With activities outside
limited, the trio passed their time reading ghost stories and inspired by this, Byron suggested a horror writing
competition. Trying to think of a subject, Mary had a vision of the
pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put
together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out... With
her husband's encouragement she wrote the idea into a story, and it was
published in 1818. Years later, after Percy's death, Mary re-wrote much
of the book and this more commonly known version was published in 1831.
Although
the story is well known, a lot of the details are often forgotten (for
those who have not read the book, there may be some spoilers here).
Told
in the correspondance style (ie. in the form of letters) it opens with
the story, not of Frankenstein himself, but of a Mr. Walton, an
explorer who aims to traverse the polar regions by boat, aiming to find
a shortcut to the far side of the world. It is not until later that he
encounters Dr. Frankenstein, and in his letters home, takes extensive
dictation of the story that the man tells. An avid learner from an
early age, the young Victor reads extensively into alchemy and medieval
views on science, and inspired by the sight of a lightening struck
tree, begins to study the details of electricity. Eventually leaving
for education at the Ingolstadt University, Victor soon becomes tired
of the classes, and begins to study privately, in due time discovering
the cause of human life. He begins the task of assembling his own
human, taking from graves and he soon becomes obsessive, cut off from
the outside world. Two years later he completes the task and brings
life to the creature, but horrified by what he has done, flees into the
streets.
His friend Henry Cerval arrives that morning, and
after discovering that the creature has fled, Victor becomes delirious
and enters a sickness for several months. Eventually they return home
together, but learn that William, Victor's youngest brother, has been
murdered in the meantime. On arrival back in Geneva, Victor glimpses
the creature itself, and believes it killed the boy, but soon finds
that the maid Justine has been accused of the killing and she is
sentenced to death. In order to raise their spirits, Victor's rather
takes the family on a holiday, but while walking on a glacier, Victor
encounters the creature again, now able to talk it tells him of his
life thus far: Fleeing from Victor's house soon after his "birth", he
tried to contact people and get food, but found them only scared of
him. Finding an isolated house he hid in their attached barn, able to
watch and listen to the De Lacey family in secret for several months.
During this time he learnt of their past, including adventures and
jailbreaks in Arabia, and learnt how to speak and read. Eventually he
tried to contact them, but is attacked and flees, later returning to
find the house abandoned, he burnt it down. Learning of his heritage
through a journal in the pocket of a jacket he took from Victor's
house, he grows angry at Victor for making him alone, and attempts to
find his creator in Geneva, on the journey he bumps into William
Frankenstein whom he kills in revenge. The creature ends his talk by
demanding that Victor make him a mate to ease his loneliness.
Victor
returns home and is terrified by the promise he made, not wanting to
build the creature at home, and hearing about some new scientific
advancements in England he elects to travel there along with Henry.
After touring the country, and secretly acquiring some necessary
equipment, he leaves Henry in Perth and travels north to the remote
Orkney islands where he starts work on the new creature. However, when
he sees his first creation watching him, he realises the horror he
could be about to unleash, and destroys his work. The monster threatens
him with the warning I will be with you on your wedding night
before rowing away. Victor dumps the remains of his aborted second
creation in the sea, but gets caught in currents and washed out into
the sea, eventually landing in Ireland where he is accused of murder -
he discovers that the body is that of Henry himself, killed by the
creature.
Victor is jailed and goes into a fever until
eventually his father is contacted and Victor is freed. Returning to
Switzerland, Victor arranges to marry Elizabeth, but warns her that he
has a horrible secret to share. Staying in an Inn on their wedding
night, Elizabeth retires to her room and Victor hears a scream, finding
her dead on the bed. He shoots at the creature and people give chase
but lose it in the darkness. After his father dies of shock on the
news, Victor is again jailed. Upon his release, Victor encounters the
creature by the grave of his family and sets off in persuit, across
Europe and eventually up into the North of Russia - the creature
leaving markers and even food to encourage Victor on, until eventually
they reach the polar ice and Victor encounters the boat of Walton,
ending the storytelling. Later, as Walton prepares to head home,
abandoning his trek, Victor urges to be left on the ice, but he dies
before he can. Shortly Walton discovers the creature on board and
discovering his maker's death, he vows to head away and kill himself in
a pyre...
The
novel has
prompted a lot of debate in academic circles over its basic themes -
although it has tones of science fiction and gothic horror, it doesn't
really fill either of these categories. The 'science' in the film is
entirely implied, and the mechanics of the creature's creation are
brushed over quickly, meanwhile except for the thunder storm scenes,
there is little 'horror' in the book and certainly nothing that would
be recognised as scary today. Modern literary debates focus round the
paternal reactions of Victor Frankenstein, and the fact that he fled
from his 'son' shortly after his birth and eschewed it throughout its
life, references to God and his creations are often made and there
appear to be links between the birth of the creature, and Mary's own
birth which lead to the death of her mother. Ultimately, such debates
are purely academic and do little to
alter the
perception of the book which has entered the status of 'classic',
despite the actually rather poor storyline - full of unnecessary asides
(most notably the de Lacey story), unexplained activities (where does
Victor find enough body parts on a remote island for his second
creation?) and
inexplicable twists (exemplified by the creature's murder of Henry and
the dumping of the body in Ireland, exactly where Victor lands just a
day later after getting lost at sea).
The Films
Frankenstein
was a very well known book, and within a few decades of its release, it
had been adapted into stage plays on both sides of the Atlantic - many
remembered only for the inventive ways they chose to kill off
Frankenstein's Creation - from death in the pit of a volcano to a
strike by the deadly force of the once life giving lightening. With
the arrival of narrative cinema in the 1900s, it was not long before
the first Frankenstein film appeared. Thomas Edison's Frankenstein
(1910) was a short, silent and surprisingly elaborate re-telling of the
story with some dramatic special effects and an unexpectedly powerful
ending as the monster disappears into a mirror and morphs into a
reflection of Frankenstein himself. Some more versions of the film were
shot during the silent era but are now believed to be lost to time.
At the beginning of the 1930s, Universal Studios under producer Carl Leammle Jr. shot an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1931). It had great success and lead to a 15 year string of films known as the Universal Horror Series. The success rapidly lead to a follow-up film, and Frankenstein
(1931) was the result - the script is effective, although heavily
adapted from Shelley's original, and direction from James Whale is
strong, but it is the performance by Boris Karloff,
which along with make-up by Jack Pierce, has become iconic and is undoubtedly the most instantly identifiable image ofthe Frankenstein Monster. With
Universal Studios being kept afloat by the revenue from their horror
films, it was not long before a sequel was on the cards, and director
James Whale was re-united with Karloff and Colin Clive (as Frankenstein
himself). Often considered to be a superior film to the first, Bride of Frankenstein
(1935) saw the monster and creator re-united thanks to the fanatical alchemist
Dr. Pretorius who seeks to force Frankenstein to continue his works.
Horror was out of favour for a few years, after the Leammle family were replaced at the head of Universal Pictures, but after New Universal Pictures found themselves on the verge of bankruptcy, the new management made some quick money by re-issuing the original Frankenstein (1931) and Dracula (1931) to cinemas.
With
money in the bank and the cinema audiences falling back in love with
the classic monster movies, it was inevitable that a third sequel would
be profitable. Sadly the original Henry Frankenstein, Colin Clive had
died in 1937, so Son of Frankenstein (1939) was the logical follow-up, with Basil Rathbone playing Wolf Frankenstein and Boris Karloff reprising his role as the creature for the last time - they are joined by the original Dracula, Bela Lugosi, as Ygor, and Lionel Atwil as Inspector Krogh. The film is the 'biggest' of all the Universal Horrors,
with a large budget, and an extended run-time, and is an impressive
film - most consider it to be the one of the last 'classic' Universal
Horror pictures. The 1940s saw a drop in budgets and the fourth film in
the series, Ghost of Frankenstein
(1942) was obviously a cheaper and inferior production to the
preceeding trilogy. Karloff wisely dropped out of the lead role,
to be replaced by Universal's new star Lon Chaney Jr., while Bela Lugosi
returns as Ygor. The film marked the beginning of Universal's decline,
although despite the rather generic direction, it does remain an
entertaining diversion. The franchise continued in the same manner with Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1943) - Bela Lugosi played the monster, as Lon Chaney Jr. introduced his cursed Larry Talbot character from The Wolfman (1941) into the series. The monster-mashes continued with House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula
(1945) - the creature itself, now played by stuntman Glenn Strange,
making little more than cameo appearances, joined by John Carradine as
Dracula, with Lon
Chaney Jr. still playing Talbot. With that, the series found its
demise, and in the post-war years, audiences wanted lighter cinema -
eventually the creatures returned in Abott and Costello meet Frankenstein (1948), with Glenn Strange as the monster alongside Bela Lugosi as Dracula, and Lon Chaney Jr. appearing as Talbot again.
The
1950s were the era of science fiction, and while various films emerged
with recognisable Frankenstein themes, none bore the iconic name until
the end of the decade. Rookie American
producers Milton
Subotsky and Max J Rosenberg were the first to try and shoot the story
again from scratch, they presented their script to the British Hammer Films
company who saw strong potential. With over a decade of B-movies behind
them, mostly based on radio and television plays, the studio was
slowly moving into top billed horror films with the success of The Quatermass Xperiment
(1955) and two subsequent follow-ups. The script as written was
considered to be dialogue heavy and poorly paced, so Hammer's own
script writer Jimmy Sangster wrote his own adaptation of the classic
novel, which would become known as Curse of Frankenstein
(1957). Although the Mary Shelley book was now in the public domain and
free for adapting, Hammer were threatened with legal action by
Universal, whose iconic
Frankenstein films were still playing in some cinemas, and had recently
been shown on television for the first time, Sangster went as far as to
watch through the first three Universal films to ensure that he had not
borrowed any of the elements from those productions. Ultimately, the
final script bares no more resemblence to the original story than
Universal's production did, although it takes the story in a different,
much more understated direction - notably, Frankenstein's lab is a
small attic room, rather than the massive laboratories of the Universal
films. Regular Hammer
director Terence Fisher
took the helm for Hammer's first widescreen feature, and was joined by
composer James Bernard - both of whom would become key players in the
Hammer gothic horrors. Popular television star Peter Cushing was cast as Baron Frankenstein, while minor actor Christopher Lee played the creature in what would be a break-through role. The film proved incredibly popular.
As with Universal almost 30 years earlier, Hammer quickly latched on to the success of Curse of Frankenstein
(1957) and thus began an 18 year run of gothic horrors. Very quickly, work was begun on a Frankenstein sequel, and Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) was born. Peter Cushing
returns as the Baron, saved from the guillotine, who sets up a workshop
in secret to begin work on a new creation - transplanting the brain of
his crippled assistant into a new body, Francis Matthews co-stars as
his assistant/disciple. In the same year, Hammer also shot a pilot for
a television series called Tales of Frankenstein, with Austrian actor Anton Diffring in the lead role, but this was never broadcast. Meanwhile, in the America drive-in market,
production company AIP (best known for their Gothic Horrors of the
1960s) had found a quick success in teen-horror schlock I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), and quickly followed this up with I was a Teenage Frankenstein
(1957) starring Whit Bissell as the Doctor. Although considered little
more than drive-in fodder at the time, the film stands as the first
updated version of the story to bear the original Frankenstein moniker.
The success of Teenage Frankenstein and the Hammer films saw a duo of quick cash-ins from the American B-movie market: Frankenstein's Daughter (1958) and Frankenstein 1970 (1958) (which saw Boris Karloff playing the Baron himself) merging horror and sci-fi themes, with modern day settings.
Hammer overreached themselves in the early 1960s, and suffered from some big-budget flops. Meanwhile, their biggest star Peter Cushing
left the studio to pursue other projects. As Hammer sought to recover
with some quick, guaranteed successes, Cushing found that the theatrical
and television business was in a decline (costume dramas were out, and
kitchen-sink dramas were in), and he soon found himself back at the
studio - inevitably another Frankenstein sequel followed. Evil of Frankenstein
(1964) was shot as part of a co-production deal with Universal Films
themselves, and so finally Hammer were able to use elements from the
classic Universal series - unfortunately, this means that the story
bears no relation to Hammer's earlier Frankenstein productions, and the
monster make-up looks more like a high school Hallowe'en mask -
director Terence Fisher
was on a break from Hammer at the time, so Freddy Francis was brought
in, but he fails to capture the magic of the earlier productions, and
most fans consider Evil to be the worst film in the series.
More low budget American B-movies followed, including the admirably daft Jesse James meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966), the first (and probably only) appearance of the Frankenstein name in a Western. Meanwhile, in Japan, the kaiju (mysterious creature) films were becoming increasingly popular and in Furankenshutain tai Chitei Kaijû Baragon (Frankenstein Conquers the World)
(1965), the still beating heart of the Frankenstein monster (taken to
Japan during WW2) is eaten by a savage child who grows into a giant
monster and does battle with the equally giant Baragon. In the sequel, Furankenshutain no Kaijū: Sanda tai Gaira
(1966), two cells from Frankenstein's monster have grown into giant
brothers, one good and one evil and as expected, they do battle over
various Japanese cities. Although released in the USA, both films had
references to Frankenstein removed by the American distributors.
Hammer returned in 1967 with the next installment to their franchise Frankenstein Created Woman (1967). Terence Fisher returned, and Peter Cushing again played the Baron - this time engaging in soul
transplants, moving the soul of an executed man (framed for
murder) into the body of his former lover with typically
murderous consequences. Although with some nice ideas, the film moves
rather slowly, and is one of the lesser series entries. Frankenstein Must be Destroyed
(1969) followed, with Cushing and Fisher returning, and ranks as one of
Hammer's best films - the Baron, hiding from the law, blackmails a
young couple into providing him with lodging and assistance, and his
creation is the most tragic ever created. Well directed and written
throughout, it stands in stark contrast to the following year's Horror of Frankenstein(1970)
- part of Hammer's attempt to push Ralph Bates as their new star name,
and a desperate attempt to re-invent their image, the film is
unconnected to the previous titles, and plays like a spoof of their
original Curse of Frankenstein
(1957), ultimately falling completely flat.
Meanwhile, more low budget exploitation cinema followed - with an amazing triple bill of Dracula Vs. Frankenstein films! The first production, Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) was shot in America by B-movie mogul Al Adamson, featuring the final, wretched performances from Universal Horror era stars, Lon Chaney Jr. and J. Carrol Naish. The second film, originally titled Los Monstruos del terror (1970), and released in the USA as Dracula vs. Frankenstein
doesn't even have Dracula in, but does star a re-incarnated
Frankenstein's Monster as part of a daft scheme by aliens to terrorise
humanity with their greatest fears. Spanish actor Paul Naschy wrote the story, and plays the creature, as well as his normal Waldemar Daninsky werewolf role. The final production was Dracula contra Frankenstein (1972), released in the USA as Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein to avoid confusion. Filmed by Spanish cult filmmaker Jess Franco
as a tribute to the Hammer and Universal horror films, it starred
Dennis Price as Dr. Frankenstein, with Howard Vernon as Dracula, and
was soon followed up, with the same cast, by the equally bizarre Maldición de Frankenstein (1972).
More European exploitation followed - La Figlia di Frankenstein (1971), re-edited and released in the USA as Lady Frankenstein (1971)
saw the Baron, played by Joseph Cotton, killed by his creation who then
goes on the run - to solve the problem, his
daughter (Rosalba Neri) sets out to create another monster who can kill
the first. Filled with sex and violence, it is typical of the European
exploitation horror era and shows how restrained and out-dated the Hammer films were
at the time. Going one step further still was Flesh for Frankenstein
(1973) - featuring cult movie stars Udo Kier as the Baron, and Joe
Dallesandro as a rebellious handyman, it was shot alongside the equally
twisted Blood for Dracula (1974), both directed by Paul Morrissey - a member of Andy Warhol's avant-garde art group. Originally filmed in 3D, Flesh for Frankenstein
is absurdly gory and filled with incredibly dark humour as well as
incest, necrophilia and some really creepy kids. The increasing appeal
of euro-exploitation cinema meant that by 1974 Hammer were on their last legs, and Terence Fisher and Peter Cushing would be re-united for the last time to shoot Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
(1974) - set in an asylum it contains some of Hammer's goriest
sequences and is a surprisingly dark and effective film, but it was not
enough to save the floundering company who shot their last horror movie
just two years later.
Meanwhile, as European cult cinema took
Frankenstein to strange new places, there was a counter movement that
tried to bring an authentic version of the story to the screen. In
America, the television production Dan Curtis Frankenstein
(1973), presented the most accurate re-telling of the story attempted
to date, followed by a lesser known Irish production Victor Frankenstein (1977) with similar intentions. Another American television production, filmed in England, Frankenstein: The True Story(1973)
took a completely different twist on the tale, imagining that the
creature's creation had been sucessful... for a while. However, the
best known Frankenstein film of the 1970s is undoubtedly Young Frankenstein (1974). Created by Mel Brooks, it is part spoof, part loving tribute to the Universal Horror series and plays out as a direct parody of Son of Frankenstein
(1939) with elements from the first two films as well. Shot in black
and white, with Gene Wilder playing Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, and
strong performances all round, the film is consistently funny -
especially to fans of the original films. In complete contrast, but also inspired by the
Universal Frankenstein films, was the curious Spanish production Spirit of the Beehive (1973) - set in 1940s Spain, it tells of the impact that a screening of Frankenstein
(1931) has on two young girls, who go in search of the tragic creature.
Very slow paced and dreamlike, it stands in strong contrast to the
majority of Spanish horror-themed productions from the era and makes
for interesting viewing.
By the 1980s, gothic cinema declined, as
zombie and slasher films became increasingly popular, and Frankenstein
was largely out of favour. A British television adaptation in 1984 is
best remembered for starring Carrie Fisher, of Star Wars fame, as the doomed Elizabeth, while the French film Frankenstein '90 (1984) is a curious, semi-comic updating of the story. Popular musician Sting played Frankenstein in The Bride
(1985), an interesting re-telling of the story of Frankenstein's female
creation - however it eschewed horror in favour of a gothic romance and
proved unpopular with audiences. The same year saw the far more popular
Re-Animator (1985), a
gory/comic horror film based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft that
was itself originally intended as a parody of Shelley's work, and puts
an interesting new twist on the obsessed scientist themes. Its sucess
soon lead to a sequel Bride of Re-Animator (1990), and later, as the films found cult following on video, a third film Beyond Re-Animator (2003).
The idea of the Frankenstein monster as kid-friendly had begun in the
1960s - a generation of children brought up on television screenings of
the once horrific, but now rather mild Universal classics were entertained by a family of monsters in The Munsters (1964-66) with the 'father', Herman Munster being based on the iconic Frankenstein
(1931) make-up. Various television series and cartoon shows followed,
with the monster being portrayed as both good and evil - this
culminated in the popular kid's film The Monster Squad
(1987) where a group of young boys discover that a collection of evil
creatures, including Dracula and the Wolf Man, are trying to take over
the world, and with help from Frankenstein's monster, try and stop
them.
The beginning of the 1990s saw some very odd twists to the Frankenstein mythos - legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman was brought back from retirement to shoot Frankenstein Unbound
(1990); based on a novel by Brian Aldiss it tells of a scientist
blasted back in time to 1817 where he encounters Dr. Frankenstein and
his creation while Frankenhooker
(1990) is a daft, unique re-telling of the story, with a mad scientist
trying to re-build his dead girlfriend from parts of prostitutes. An
American television adaptation, known as Dr. Frankenstein
(1992) starred Patrick Bergin as the creator, and Randy Quaid as his
creation and is generally well regarded, it was followed by the first
big budget cinematic version of the film for several decades: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
(1994), starring and directed by Kenneth Branagh, with Robert De Niro
as the creation, it appears relatively faithful to the novel, but
changes (and destroys) some key themes, and is absurdly over acted and
directed.
After
the impact of Branagh's film, it was several years before Frankenstein
returned to the big and small screens. Stephen Sommer's much derided Van Helsing (2004), was conceived as a tribute to the Universal monster series (that he had more successfully referenced in The Mummy
(1999)). Although featuring Frankenstein's creation as an interestingly
thoughtful and tragic creature, any attempt at a message is lost in the
film's frenetic pacing and ludicrously over-the-top action scenes.
Confusingly, 2004 also saw two television adaptations of the story,
baring the same name. ABC's Frankenstein
(2004) was originally planned as a pilot episode for a TV series,
based on a concept by modern horror writer Dean Koontz, who later
turned the theme into a series of books. It tells of the investigations
by a New Orleans police team into a series of violent murders, and the
discovery of a creature called Deucalion who reveals himself to be
the first creation of Victor Helios, a mad scientist who is still
alive and experimenting, with disastrous effects - the pilot received
poor ratings and the planned series was abandoned. In contrast Hallmark's Frankenstein
(2004) is a very interesting television movie, boasting a big budget and highly accurate two-part re-telling of the Mary
Shelley novel - with a good cast and impressive production values, it ranks
as the most accurate Frankenstein production to date and seems unlikely to be bettered.
Considered
to be one of the most influential books ever written, Frankenstein has
inspired literally hundreds of films from close re-tellings of the
story, to some of the wildest and strangest productions ever to hit the
screens - only Sherlock Holmes and Dracula can beat Frankenstein for sheer numbers of
screen appearances. As expected, the classic tale continues to inspire,
and the recent productions Perfect Woman (2006), and Subject Two
(2006) put modern spins on the scientist's tale, while more adaptations
of the original story are certain to be forthcoming before the end of
the decade...
Frankenstein: The Movies - DVD Reviews
Chapter 1: Frankenstein - The Original Tale Films that try, however sucessfully, to keep close to Mary Shelley's original book and its themes.
Roger Corman's gory take on Frankenstein contains some interesting ideas, but is terribly rushed and underdeveloped. Not recommended except to Frankenstein or Corman fans.
Lady Frankenstein (1971) US St. Clair Vision Region 0 Public Domain DVD
A simple yet effective piece of exploitation cinema with a good cast and production. Partly recommended to euro-horror fans.
Frankenstein isn't even in this Wolfman film, which marked the debut lead role of euro-cult star Paul Naschy. Recommended to all Naschy and Euro-cult fans.
With a
smart sci-fi script, but a poor ending, this film benefits
from strong Fisher direction and heralds the Frankenstein films. Of
interest to Hammer fans.
A rare lead role for German actor Horst Frank as a scientist performing body transplants in this rather unoriginal film. Partly recommended to fans of 1950s sci-fi.
Feedback and comment on this Guide, plus read the editor's notes at The Blog.
More European exploitation followed - La Figlia di Frankenstein (1971), re-edited and released in the USA as Lady Frankenstein (1971)
saw the Baron, played by Joseph Cotton, killed by his creation who then
goes on the run - to solve the problem, his
daughter (Rosalba Neri) sets out to create another monster who can kill
the first. Filled with sex and violence, it is typical of the European
exploitation horror era and shows how restrained and out-dated the Hammer films were
at the time. Going one step further still was Flesh for Frankenstein
(1973) - featuring cult movie stars Udo Kier as the Baron, and Joe
Dallesandro as a rebellious handyman, it was shot alongside the equally
twisted Blood for Dracula (1974), both directed by Paul Morrissey - a member of Andy Warhol's avant-garde art group. Originally filmed in 3D, Flesh for Frankenstein
is absurdly gory and filled with incredibly dark humour as well as
incest, necrophilia and some really creepy kids. The increasing appeal
of euro-exploitation cinema meant that by 1974 Hammer were on their last legs, and Terence Fisher and Peter Cushing would be re-united for the last time to shoot Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
(1974) - set in an asylum it contains some of Hammer's goriest
sequences and is a surprisingly dark and effective film, but it was not
enough to save the floundering company who shot their last horror movie
just two years later.
