This Frankenstein movie is a little different from most. It focuses not so much on its monster or the creation of its monster as it does on the man who endeavors to create life. It therefore lacks the electrical arcs, suspended platforms, and mad screaming that characterizess many such films, but it makes up for these absences with an adept script and an original imagining of the monster. This movie succeeds mostly through the characterization of Victor Frankenstein and the talent of Peter Cushing, with the typical grisly elements of the Frankenstein story providing a few nice dynamics. This is a measured tale of a man who neglects moral duty in favor of self-satisfaction, in a Frankenstein setting.

You know the basic Frankenstein story: man becomes drunk with scientific ambition, creates living being from dead parts, pays the price for meddling with the power of life. This one is the same as far as that goes, but there is a little more to it. The Baron Victor Frankenstein this time is portrayed not only as a reckless mad scientist but as a truly bad person who will stop at no means to attain his ends. His tutor, Paul Krempe, after originally following Frankenstein into the game of reanimation, eventually realizes the two are headed in a bad direction, and though he repeatedly warns him of the consequences of playing God, Frankenstein ignores him, uncaring as to what the results of his endeavors might be. All he cares about is successfully harnessing the power of life.

The evil of Frankenstein¹ is the focus of the film. Other Frankenstein films have shown the grittiness of harvesting dead body parts, for instance, but this one emphasizes the depravity of doing so. This, in turn, also emphasizes the moral deficiency of someone who would go to such lengths. Further highlighting Frankenstein's moral decrepitude, we have Krempe to provide us with a voice of disgust every time Frankenstein takes a step toward his goal, like the numerous times he shows up with a new body part. We also have a fairly dark and gritty short scene of a clandestine eyeball purchase, in which, to emphasize the characters' shame of partaking in such an exchange, neither's face is shown. This is not merely a misguided soul.

In fact, Frankenstein is a decidedly deceitful character, one who displays an affable façade during the small percentage of time he spends in public but who has fully given himself to the evil side that he hides from the world. He, like most other manifestations of Frankenstein, consistently hides his great experiment from everyone, even those closest to him, with his reluctant assistant being the one exception. When he is with Krempe (or alone with just about any other single character, for that matter), he's as bad as he wants to be. When he is in the company of guests, however, he plays the role of obliging host, partaking in friendly conversation and generously pouring brandy. He also has a secret side to his romantic life. When his cousin Elizabeth arrives after many years, expecting to marry him, he makes no indication that he has other romantic involvements and in fact leads her blindly on. In the meantime, his true romantic interests remain exclusively with his maid, Justine. Also, while he spends virtually all of his time creating his monster, Elizabeth believes he is performing mundane, everyday scientific experiments. I at first viewed him as something of a Jekyll/Hyde character in this film but after some consideration realized that I was wrong; Dr. Jekyll was a genuinely good half of a man -- this Frankenstein's "good" half is nothing but a disguise.

Peter Cushing's acting brings this character perfectly to life. He can switch back and forth from unrepentantly evil to cloyingly friendly with ease, depending on what his surroundings require (though they most often require the former). While he rarely indicates that there is another side to his character than the persona he is wearing at the given time, there is one scene that brilliantly combines both sides. When Justine asks him, while necking, why Elizabeth has arrived, he replies only "Are you jealous?" with a smile that only the viewer can see, clearly relishing the thought of being the object of a woman's jealousy. It is a perfect, subtle showing of the character -- a man who not only is bad but delights in being so.

Even when admitting weakness, he retains a regality of character and a core of evil. After Krempe has refused to continue his aid in the experiment, Frankenstein makes an attempt to bring the creature to life on his own. Unsuccessful, he asks Krempe directly for help, saying frankly, "I thought I could work [the apparatus] myself, but I can't." When Krempe refuses, Frankenstein responds with a perfectly placid tone underneath which we can sense a distinct threat: "You're going to help me, Paul, whatever you say." This dialogue, and even much of the rest of the Frankenstein-Krempe relationship, creates in the character an aura that is both subtle and commanding. The performance is everything you would expect from Cushing.

I feel compelled also to make a quick mention of Melvin Hayes, who plays Frankenstein as a boy for about five minutes at the beginning of the film. It is a small part, but every time I watch it I am astonished at how perfectly he nails not only the role of the character but also the mannerisms and demeanor of Peter Cushing himself. His impatience with a freeloading woman matches perfectly the temperament of the adult version of the character, and the delivery of his lines well emulates the always calculated rhythm of Cushing. It is another example of how well in place nearly every aspect of this film is.

Finally, there is the monster (played by the always commendable Christopher Lee), which doesn't come to life until about two-thirds of the way into the film. I have somewhat ambiguous feelings about the look of it, but ultimately I believe it works. The makeup is a bit too thick, giving away perhaps a hint of falseness, especially when you see it hanging over the top of the neck like a rubber mask, and the blue, oxygen-deprived skin does not match his rather healthy-looking hands. At the same time, though, the combination of his one cloudy blue eye with his other -- even more frightening -- strong brown eye is nicely hideous. The best achievement of the monster's makeup, though, is the fact that it does not try to emulate that of Universal's version of the monster, which set a paradigm that has proved incredibly difficult for writers and makeup artists to break from. So, while the overall look gets a solid B, the effort in originality gets an A.

Whereas your typical Frankenstein story is about a madman reaching for the top of the world and falling tragically, this one is more about a bad man who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. You will get only one or two scenes of sympathy for the monster in The Curse of Frankenstein and will experience mostly revulsion at the lengths a man might go in the name of success. It is a different type of Frankenstein story, but it is one that works. It is a dark and pessimistic examination of a man who willingly wades in evil just so he can do what he wants.