DVD Review: The Rites of Frankenstein (1972)

My fondness for Jess Franco definitely clouds any objective opinion I can have of his work, but I think The Rites of Frankenstein (a.k.a. Les Expériences érotiques de Frankenstein, 1972) is one of his most surreal and interesting efforts. Unfortunately the movie doesn't really live up to what it could have been if the director had access to a bigger budget and a more enthusiastic cast, but it's still a must see for Franco fans.

The cast is good, but they just don’t seem very invested in the film. Horror film veteran Dennis Price delivers a rather uninspired performance as Dr. Frankenstein and Franco himself also appears for a brief moment as Frankenstein's assistant Morpho. Frankenstein's daughter is played by Euro scream queen Britt Nichols, but she's rather forgettable here.

Thankfully Franco favorite Howard Vernon shows up in one of his better roles in The Rites of Frankenstein as the hypnotist Cagliostro, who kidnaps Frankenstein's monster for his own diabolical plans. The erotic film actress Anne Libert also appears in one of her better roles as a blind and sadistic flesh eating “bird woman” called Melissa who's being controlled by the malevolent Cagliostro. Howard Vernon and Anne Libert keep the film entertaining and they seem to be enjoying their roles as Cagliostro and Melissa.

Franco's unusual and erotic twist on the Frankenstein myth is fun to watch, and the movie contains some beautifully shot scenes. The Frankenstein monster is silver and the modern makeup used in the film adds a nice psychedelic touch to the creature's classic look. Unfortunately the score is lacking which lessons the enjoyment of the film in my opinion. I've come to expect great music when I watch a sixties or early seventies era Jess Franco film and The Rites of Frankenstein didn't deliver a memorable score, but it does include some really interesting sound effects.

I was extremely disappointed with the NTSC Region-1 DVD release due to it's rather poor quality and terrible edits. It was released by Image Entertainment and only includes the edited Spanish version of the film. The uncut scenes are included as part of the DVD extras. The film would have been much better if the DVD I watched featured the uncut version of the movie which was originally called Les Expériences érotiques de Frankenstein or The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, in it's entirety. Hopefully a better looking and complete version of the film will become available on NTSC Region-1 DVD in the future. The Rites of Frankenstein definitely deserves to be released again in a better format, but the Image Entertainment DVD does feature a widescreen print of the movie with English subtitles.

For more information about the DVD please visit Amazon.

- Kimberly Lindbergs