La sombra de Frankenstein

The beginning is needlessly lukewarm. Certainly more than is prudent; and what happens in the first half hour could have easily been communicated in just ten minutes of footage. And the same applies to the entire movie. This time this is more of a B-movie plucked out of thin air and, unlike the previous parts, we see a couple of downright ridiculous scenes. The biggest disappointment is how Boris Karloff is sidelined. And when he gets a look in a scene, his simply plays an instrument of murder weapon and not the humanized monster like in Bride of Frankenstein. And he doesn’t even get to speak this time. He has just one proper scene in the entire movie - the one with the mirror. Plus Basil Rathbone in the role of Frankenstein certainly hasn’t inherited even half of the charisma of his “father", Colin Clive, let alone the diabolic delivery of Ernest Thesinger. What is pleasing, on the other hand, is the expressionist architecture of decorations, the excellent Lugosi and several wonderful shots that work with black/white contrast. Certainly not a bad movie, but deep in the shadow of its predecessors. (09.03.2008)

Even though Son of Frankenstein may have a screenplay that could be somewhat disappointing, it still manages to maintain some tension and follows in the footsteps of James Whale's efforts to create not only horror but also strong psychological drama. It succeeds only partially, but the film remains a very high-quality spectacle that will captivate you. But it probably won't scare you much. (26.11.2015)