mike48128 Review of The Ghost of Frankenstein

The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

A weak entry in the series. Too "mild" of a sequel

[6/10 · 10 October 2016]

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!