Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks (1974)

Original title: Terror! Il Castello delle Donne Maledette

Director: Dick Randall

Writers: Mario Francini, William Rose, Mark Smith, Roberto Spano

Composer: Marcello Gigante

Starring: Rossano Brazzi, Michael Dunn, Edmund Purdom, Gordon Mitchell, Loren Ewing, Luciano Pigozzi, Xiro Papas, Salvatore Baccaro, Simonetta Vitelli, Eric Mann, Laura De Benedittis, Robert Marx

More info: IMDb

Tagline: A mad scientist toils in secret. His experiments defy nature. His creatures destroy life.

Plot: When a Neanderthal man is lynched by villagers, Count Frankenstein uses his years of research to bring the monster back to life. However, the count must avoid detection by the authorities, the furious locals, and his own daughter—who’s preparing for her wedding.

My rating: 4.5/10

Will I watch it again? No, but I'm keeping the disc for the wonderful extras.

This one's a mixed bag if there ever was one.  It's a somewhat slow retelling of the Frankenstein story but with enough variations to keep you watching but hardly.  There are moments of amateurish film making coupled with some great camera angles and movement. 

It's an Italian picture so there's nudity (it helps but it can't save).  The great Gordon Mitchell is in it but he's relegated to a small role and, I think, without a single line of dialogue. That was sad.  He deserved better than this.  The English dubbing is OK for some characters and REALLY bad on others.  Like Darth Vader, there's some good in this film but it's not enough that's worth saving.  The score is pretty bad (what's with the dog squeaky toy sounds?) and the dullness of the pacing will probably have you reaching for the remote.  Fortunately buying this disc wasn't a complete waste of $6.  It's s Something Weird Video release which means it's got some short films, trailers and such.  That helps deflect the pain a little.