Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell 1973 ***

The last of the Hammer Frankenstein films is an untypically gory affair from director Terence Fisher. Peter Cushing returns as a haggard Baron, now ruling the roost over a lunatic asylum where he has unlimited body parts for his creations. He befriends a young doctor (Shane Briant) who has recently been incarcerated for grave-robbing, and soon they’re building an imperfect beast, with Dave Prowse in a rather unconvincingly bulky suit. Eyeballs are dropped from jars, brains fall on the floor and a lengthy brain-transplant sequence all turn the stomach, but Cushing’s presence, alongside Bernard Lee and Madeleine Smith, make this a worthwhile swan-song for the series.