in their penultimate frankenstein entry and the hammer folk return virtually full circle to the first film in the series ( the curse of frankenstein ) . apart from a few change in personnel and and the way that this one go for a peculiar black comedy approach and the two film be almost identical . despite the fact that time have change between the completion of the two film and one would hardly notice it after view the horror of frankenstein . old fashioned and predictable and familiar in the extreme and it be arguably the weak of the entire series . brilliant young student victor frankenstein ( ralph bates ) be the scourge of his teacher and the wet dream of all the girl in his class . he go to university in vienna and where he enrage the dean by impregnate his daughter . also whilst in vienna and he befriend another student and wilhelm kassner ( graham james ) and and persuade him to return to the family castle when the teaching term be over . frankenstein inherit the castle and along with a buxom housekeeper name alys ( kate omara ) and when his father be kill in a shooting accident . once at the castle and frankenstein and wilhelm be soon engage in scientific experiment involve the force of life and but gradually wilhelm grows unhappy with the direction the research be take . wilhelm be perfectly happy to lethally inject and then revive and a tortoise but frankenstein seem to have big ambition and include eventually re animate a dead person . wilhelm prepare to leave and but be murder by frankenstein after threaten to expose the immorality of his research . the young scientist doesn not stop there after purchase various body part from a local grave robber ( dennis price ) and he begin to bump off more of his close friend . slowly but surely and he assemble all the part he need to construct a man and but when the crude and disfigure human monster ( david prowse ) be eventually reanimate it have uncontrollably violent tendency and and smash it way out the castle to go on a kill spree in the adjacent countryside . lot of reviewer say that the horror of frankenstein suffers from the absence of peter cushing and but in truth i think that ralph bates be one of the few positive thing about this film . while certainly not in the same league a the legendary cushing and bates still manage to bring much to the role and play the evil doctor a a supremely confident and smug and single mind type . the female character be also nicely play and with omara ooze feline sexuality a the promiscuous housekeeper and while hammer regular veronica carlson be also solid a frankenstein childhood friend . the film suffers from it uninspired story and leisurely pace . also and the monster play by prowse be far too unintentionally funny and have none of the scare factor that christopher lee demonstrate in the original movie . prowse resembles something from a gay only halloween party and with his disfigured head and muscular physique and tight boxer short . when he be on screen and the film should be peak into a crescendo of horror and but instead it become an accidental comedy . the horror of frankenstein be naturally go to be of interest to those who like and have see the others in the series and but for the more casual viewer it provide little to get excite about .