Frankenstein 1970 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

Frankenstein 1970 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Randy Miller III April 7, 2019

Howard W. Koch's Frankenstein 1970 (1957) has a few things going for it, but a hell of a lot working against it. This independent black-and-white film was shot in just eight days on an incredibly small budget; the legend goes that after star Boris Karloff's salary and the cost of renting its expensive castle set, only about $60,000 was left to shoot the film. Although lesser-quality or more recent options -- whether you settle for 16mm to shoot Clerks, pack a few camcorders for The Blair Witch Project, or use increasingly cheap digital equipment -- have made it possible to shoot a movie for much less, that's an insanely low amount for any film to limp through production. But as long as it has a good script, strong performances, and a great monster, we can forgive the budgetary restrictions of a horror movie, right?

Unfortunately, Frankenstein 1970 has none of of those, either. But the half-baked story starts off well enough: after a suitably creepy introduction where we find out the brutal murder we've just witnessed is part of a made-for-TV movie, director Mike Shaw (Tom Duggan) gives his cast and crew a quick break. They've been tirelessly filming in and around the expansive castle grounds of Baron Victor von Frankenstein (Boris Karloff), who desperately needs the money to continue his scientific experiments. That's not the Baron's only problem: he was horribly disfigured years ago by the Nazis after refusing to cooperate and has grown to loathe his facial scars. But he makes do with arrangements like these as long as Mike and company don't ask questions; what's hiding in Frankenstein's secret basement wouldn't go over well with outsiders. No one knows about the passageway that leads there, not even his dutiful butler Schutter (Norbert Schiller)...until he finds it by accident, and becomes part of Frankenstein's horrific hobby.

One death leads to another in Frankenstein 1970, and it sure takes long enough for the surviving visitors to figure out that something's up. Most of these characters are, to put it mildly, as dumb as rocks: despite the Baron's suspicious and telegraphed behavior, a handful of the cast and crew are picked off by Frankenstein's experiment at regular intervals. This, of course, leads us to the film's other main shortcoming: the monster itself, which quite literally looks like a mummy with a bucket head. There are still a few good scares along the way, since the castle's shadowy interiors guarantee a decent level of tension as hapless victims explore every nook and cranny. It's just that Frankenstein 1970 really doesn't deliver the thrills when it needs to: the "made-for-TV" introduction is much scarier, for starters, and Frankenstein spends enough time puttering around in his lab that first-time fans will be expecting a lot more than they actually get. Combine that with plenty of bland performances and supporting characters that aren't given much to do, and you've got a recipe for horror movie mediocrity. Sure, it's entertaining for nostalgia's sake and Boris Karloff is always fun to watch, but Frankenstein 1970 is one of the the least essential horror sequels of its era.

Frankenstein 1970's first -- and to my knowledge, only -- previous appearance on digital home video was as part of Warner Bros.' 2009 multi-disc collection Karloff & Lugosi - Horror Classics, and I doubt that even the film's most die-hard fans thought it would ever earn a high-definition release. Surprisingly, it has...and a pretty good one at that. As usual, Warner Archive serves up a strong A/V presentation along with a few bonus features carried over from the DVD era, one being a feature-length audio commentary that's probably more enjoyable than the film itself.

Frankenstein 1970 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original CinemaScope 2.35:1 aspect ratio, Frankenstein 1970 looks very good for an independent film shot in just over a week. The black-and-white visuals -- a much less common format by 1958, and likely chosen for budgetary reasons -- give it a classic horror vibe, with the mostly well-lit sets creating an appropriately eerie mood highlighted by great shadow detail and plenty of depth at times. Textures and image detail can be quite good on this 1080p transfer, which in all likelihood is a new 2K scan of the fine-grain master positive. Close-ups and wide shots fare extremely well, even though some of the framing isn't as precise as the format demands; again, blame that rushed schedule. No obvious black crush or blooming is present, while common digital imperfections such as excessive noise reduction, compression artifacts, aliasing, and edge enhancement were spotted along the way wither. Some of the film's darkest moments appear slightly muddy or washed out (the same goes for a brief third-act driving sequence, one of the only scenes that take place outside the castle) and there's some persistent flicker here and there, but these also appear to be source material issues and nothing more. Overall, Frankenstein 1970 is another solid transfer from Warner Archive and, without question, offers a much more stable and satisfying presentation than the 2009 DVD.

Frankenstein 1970 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The audio doesn't always fare as well, but take that slightly reduced score with a grain of salt: like the video, most of these problems are source material issues and no fault of WAC's restoration or disc authoring. Frankenstein 1970 is presented in DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio (split mono) with strong music cues, decent dynamic range, and even a modest amount of depth in some of the castle's larger rooms. As most of the dialogue was recorded on-set with little to no time (or money) for post-production sweetening, it often sounds a bit hollow and thin with a few sibilance issues and volume fluctuations along the way. Still, there's obviously no problem with audio sync and very little hiss and crackling, so at the very least it's a solid step up from the DVD's lossy Dolby Digital mono. Fans shouldn't find too much to complain about here, as it's extremely doubtful that Frankenstein 1970 will sound any better on home video.

Optional English SDH subtitles (which may help viewers decipher a few of the more muffled lines or German names) are included during the main feature only, but they're in Warner Archive's disappointingly standard yellow ALL CAPS format. See screenshot #19 for an example. When will they finally do away with these?

Frankenstein 1970 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As with all Warner Archive Blu-rays, Frankenstein 1970 only includes extras from their parent company's DVD edition.

• Audio Commentary with Charlotte Austin, Bob Burns, and Tom Weaver - This enjoyable track offers a great mixture of first-hand and historical trivia with very few lapses into silence. Topics of interest include the opening sequence, shooting in unforgiving weather, growing up with the film, using some of the real crew as extras and supporting characters, working with Boris Karloff, long shots and one-take scenes, Frankenstein history, Paul Dunlap's original score, the production design, material that was cut in other countries (including details read from an original letter written by the censors), the Armed Forces' Network 1952 Frankenstein Castle radio prank, early reviews and public opinion, working with a small budget (after Karloff's salary and set rental), Abbott and Costello, deleted scenes, and much more. This is definitely more of a loose, conversational, and candid commentary than a dryly informative one; given the film's overall tone, it's a perfect fit.

• TV Spot Trailer (1:03, 1080p) - A wonderfully over-the-top piece that captures the film's spirit and hypes up Karloff's starring role without giving away too much of the plot. Presented in rough-looking 1.33:1, it ends with a static illustration that looks like a variant of the original poster (which doubles as this Blu-ray's cover art).

Frankenstein 1970 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Warner Bros. vault is full of classic films just waiting for a top-tier Blu-ray restoration...and Howard W. Koch's Frankenstein 1970 isn't one of those films. It's suitably creepy in spots and has a fun Scooby-Doo vibe (that's a good thing in my book, at least)...but the performances are mostly bland, many of the characters are as dumb as rocks, and the film's extremely low budget shows in all the wrong places. Still, there's some enjoyment to be had here: Boris Karloff -- who hated the finished product, incidentally -- is always a blast to watch, the expansive castle set leads to some decent suspense, and...well, Warner Archive's Blu-ray is a very good effort too. Featuring an excellent A/V presentation (taking into account the film's budget, of course) and a terrific 2009 audio commentary, it's worth the upgrade for established fans. Newcomers, however, should know what they're getting into first.