O Castelo de Frankenstein

Saw the film and thought that it was fairly interesting. It was entertaining and kept relatively close to the mythos of the various characters involved (Vampire, Werewolf and Frankenstein's monster.) The special effects were okay and the makeup was okay as well, with a minor problem I had with Franstein's creature. The makeup for actor Peter Crombie I felt didn't convey the kind of 'fear' of what the monster should have. He looked more or less like an old wino or junkie with scars; Fairly harmless looking (aside from some metallic bolts on his forehead). If they were attempting to make the monster appear benign and non lethal, then they succeeded. Also, he should have appeared a bit taller I think. He seemd to be the same height as "Fernando", the semi blind character he befriends. (How tall is Pete Crombie anyway?) other than that, it's a pretty good film with enough chills to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Anyone who liked Kindred The Embraced should like this mini-series. I found the themes to be somewhat similar and really enjoyed both shows. The acting and story line were very professional and interesting. I consider House of Frankenstein 1997 to be a 'keeper' and have waited impatiently for several years for it to be released to the public.

MORD39 RATING: 0 (of ****)

I was happy to think that perhaps our old dear creatures from the wonderful Universal days would return in the nineties to breathe some life into the dead horror genre. Boy, was I mistaken.

HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1997) is dumb, comical, and a travesty. It does not deserve to bear the title of its classical 1944 counterpart.

Boy, is it over!

While the sum of this admittedly comes out to about average, it is not without aspects worth noting. I haven't seen the original classics based on the books, nor the film called the same as this. A pretty good job is done of basing the characters on the novels, from what I know of them. The three creatures/types get a fairly decent amount of screen-time as well as development each. Some of the design is interesting, though there are definitely also areas of it where they cut corners. Lighting isn't bad. The effects vary, but some are well-done, remarkably so in several cases. I'm not sure if there are multiple versions of this, but for me, it lasted about two hours and forty minutes sans commercials, so about an hour and twenty per part. There is relatively well-done suspense in this. There is a lot of cheese and corn herein, as well, but hey, they can both be found in a nutritious meal, and some insist on some of either or both in their diet. The humor certainly has its moments, and it's mostly natural, seldom forced. The script is hit and miss, and it may break a rule or more. It does a reasonable job of updating the myths and such. The plot is fine. The pacing is, as well. The acting is a mixed bag. The cinematography and editing feature some inspired bits. This is genuinely scary at times. There is moderate violence and gore, but I didn't hear any language. I recommend this to fans of horror, and those into the monsters. Just be aware of what to expect. 5/10

When this two part mini-series was first advertised, I didn't know what to expect. Most made for TV horror movies are poorly written, and have cheap special effects. While the special effects left something to be desired, the writing, and performance of the actors in this movie were very good. There were a lot of parts that I felt weren't needed, but overall, it was good enough to keep my attention. I felt that the unnecessary parts (way too much time on the frankenstein monster) could have been cut out, and it would have been a great TV movie. Cut out the unnecessary (notice I didn't say bad) parts and give it a bigger budget, and it would have been a great movie for theaters.

Overall, it was a good, solid movie, that I would watch again.