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Baron Frankenstein and his ever-present assistant are in the
castle laboratory, as usual. They are putting the finishing
touches to a man-made man, you might say, made from all the
best available body parts. However, they lack a suitable head,
but soon find it conveniently mounted on a young shepherd
seen visiting a house of ill-repute. His head is removed,
and the shepherd's friend wakes from a drunken stupor to find
the headless body. Curiously, the next day the friend is summoned
to the castle by Frankenstein's wife (who, it seems, is also
his sister) and offered the job of handyman. Duties mainly
consist of being conveniently located for the bedroom. A good
job for any male to fall into, you might think, but the handyman
experiences the shock of his life when at dinner he meets
a tall man wearing his friend's head...
Flesh
for Frankenstein (1973) is the sister film to Blood
for Dracula, mirroring it in almost every way. It predates
Blood by a year, and is the better film. But only just.
As with the vampire film, Andy Warhol presents, Paul Morrissey
writes and directs, and practically all of the cast and crew
are the same. There's nothing like keeping it in the family,
is there! Even the character portrayals are almost identical.
Vdo Kier plays Frankenstein instead of Dracula, the assistant
also played Dracula's aide, the handyman acts the same part
in both films - and even gets to bump up and down on the same
leading ladies.
The
overall effect is a strange mishmash of subtly conflicting
styles. A somewhat surreal scene will be slapped round the
face by a sudden influx of dodgy lines or overacting. There
is more body [pun intended] to this script than Blood,
but it can only be described as a plot in the very loosest
sense. That is not to say there aren't moments which work
well, but you find yourself hoping they were intended to be
tongue-in-cheek, otherwise we're all in trouble.
When
the Baron has completed his male, he introduces it to his
already constructed female (here's one I made earlier!), hoping
to introduce a new race of humans. However, he is angered
and confused when the male fails to respond sexually to the
attractive female. Little does he realise that the original
owner of the head was about to enter a monastery, and had
only been dragged along to the house of ill-repute by his
friend.
Another
weird scene, which comes earlier in the film, involves Frankenstein
making love to his female by plunging his hand into her torso
and fiddling with her squelchy organs, an expression of ecstasy
on his face. You can't help laughing though when his assistant
later tries the same and inadvertently kills her.
Extras
are also the same as on the Blood for Dracula disc:
a commentary by Paul Morrissey and Vdo Kier, production stills
with commentary, and screen tests.
Make
certain you return to this site for the reviews of Bandages
for the Mummy, and Whiskers for the Werewolf!
Ty
Power
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