Victor von Frankenstein, a baron in his own right just like his grandfather, has not had an easy life. Despite his past which meant going through the war and enduring hardships at the hands of those who thought they were in the right, and no matter his accomplishments, he cannot escape the shadow of his very name. Unable to break away from that legacy, he is determined to create a monster of his very own and woe to those who find themselves in his vicinity. As it is, a movie is being filmed in his castle and those making it have no idea as to what goes on deep in the bowels which only he has access to. When people start disappearing, Victor soon becomes a suspect and rightfully so as his creature now lives and those who cross him or run into the monster are never seen again.

Once upon a time, Boris Karloff would star in a film about Victor Frankenstein and his monster and twenty-seven years later, would do so again in Frankenstein 1970. This time, instead of playing the creature, he would take the reins of the Baron himself or at least his descendent. The movie finds the good Baron up to no good, needing money and an atomic reactor to get his experiment up and on its feet, in the most literal sense. So it is that he allows a film crew to set up shop in his castle to make a movie. He hates it, but he does what he has to to continue along the same path his grandfather walked. Being the last of the Frankenstein line, he could have simply done his own thing, gone his own way and rehabilitated the name so that it would be thought of as better going forward than it was in the past. As such, Victor finds himself a slave to his own history and unable to alter the path he now finds himself on. No matter the obstacle, he will overcome and succeed where those in his family had failed before.

Karloff is excellent as the Baron, though one could say he hammed it up a bit, because he did, being somewhat overdramatic at times yet giving a completely riveting performance as a man both haunted and determined. Nearing the end of his life, time is a factor and he cannot stand being around those who have invaded his sanctum, but they are a necessary evil. Despite not playing the monster itself, Karloff does indeed become one as he begins to kill all those who oppose him. As for his creature, it looks slightly ridiculous while at the same time, also being somewhat imposing. Looking as it did, should it have walked up behind anyone in the present, they too would be quite frightened by the encounter. Watching it on film, it is a little silly, but memorable and unique given the material. Don Barry co-stars as the visiting director while Jana Lund is the eponymous damsel in distress. The rest of the cast is decent, but they needed a little more to work with to really make this as exciting as it should have been because as it stands, the entire affair tends to plod along just a little bit.

Thanks to director Howard W. Koch and cinematographer Carl E. Guthrie, the film did look quite good with a nice gothic atmosphere, perfect for showcasing the horrors that would go on in Castle Frankenstein. Despite everything good or bad though, all of it boiled down to one thing and that of course, was Karloff. Without him, this movie might have been relegated more to history than it was. Having Karloff’s name on the marquee helped boost its visibility and it is as memorable and as wonderful as it is because of him. Definitely worth a watch for Karloff alone.

3.5 out of 5