'Frankenstein's Daughter' Review

'Frankenstein's Daughter' – 1958

Synopsis:

A descendant of Doctor Frankenstein uses chemicals and good old-fashioned cadaver pieces to follow in the family tradition.


Thoughts:

I was a Monster Kid. I read books about old Horror movies. Every week I watched 'Shock Theater' with the local horror host Toolouse NoNeck and the classic film he had to present. I don't know how many films I saw that way. I clearly remember seeing three: 'The Green Slime', the original 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers', and 'Frankenstein's Daughter'. It was a movie clearly trying to tap into the teen monster trends of the time. I didn't remember it being a very good movie but vividly remembered a sequence where a character gets run over by a car in order to be added to the creature being assembled. After a long day of this and that, I popped in this movie, curled up on the couch, and fully expected the movie to interact with my existing tiredness to assist me in dozing off.

The movie woke me up. Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to claim its a lost classic or anything like that. As tired as I was that night for the movie to engage me to the level that it woke me up is quite an accomplishment. It gets points for that.

Its not a perfect movie but it has a lot going for it. The story is reasonably solid for what it is, with a feeling of progression. The 'bad guys' aren't immediately evident as they aren't caricatures. At the same time they are 'updated' versions of the characters as we'd see them in a movie set in the 1700s or 1800s. Loyalties and levels of sanity alter as the story progresses so that the characters move forward. Stories of monsters are dismissed as stories until proof is received.

I was also impressed with the makeups. The creatures are rather hideous looking. It gave me the impression that the filmmakers knew they needed to deliver something wild here and spent enough of their budget making this right.

On the downside, there's a character or two that just disappears, removed from the story by dialogue rather than action. There's also an acceptable but pointless party sequence with a song.

I've seen better films and plenty that were worse. If you have an interest in older monster movies, this may appeal to you more than you expect. If you can't deal with black and white films or horror movies where people don't get ripped in half while on screen, well, then this won't work for you.

Recommended with reservations.

What Am I? Seven?

My sinuses have been giving me issues for the past couple months. I dunno if it's an issue I've always had that's just worse this year, or me getting old, or allergies or what exactly. It's not the biggest deal in the world but it's something I've been more aware of lately than years past. I've been taking some herbal remedies to combat the congestion but, for awhile, wasn't as consistent as I should have been.

My mom told me a story of a friend of hers that took these herbs for a couple months and then leaned weird or something and had all this green fluid ooze out of her nose and sinuses. It sounded really gross.

It made me more consistent with my herb taking. I want green ooze too.

Music Monday - Doctorlike?

Things occur to me in strange ways. I also have a habit of seeing things just through the filter of my Crazy World. Like where everything relates to Doctor Who.

Thomas Dolby? He kinda looks like Peter Davison.

And in this twisted world of mine, the lead singer of A Flock of Seagulls looks like Colin Baker, or at least his mopy brother.

Yes. I am not right.