The Grim Cellar

1938, US, Directed by Rowland V Lee

Black & White, Running Time: 95 minutes

DVD, Region 2, Universal, Video: 1.33:1, Audio: Mono

Several decades following the events of Bride of Frankenstein, Henry’s son Wolf returns with his wife and child to the town on a stormy night to claim his inheritance. Rather than greeting him as a baron the villagers and council are displeased to see him, making no attempt to hide their disapproval. The problem lies in their expectations: they fear a repeat of the terror that the baron’s father brought to their locale with the creation of the monster that everyone now believes to be dead. What they don’t realise is that local grave robber Ygor, who should be dead thanks to being hanged some time previous, lives in the ruins of the destroyed watchtower and is keeping the dormant - but not destroyed - body of the monster a secret. Once Ygor hears of Wolf’s arrival he approaches him hoping that the baron and the notes written by his father will enable work to begin on returning the monster to its full strength. Quite intrigued but also desiring to bring some balance to his family name Wolf sets about reinvigorating the monster, but he doesn’t realise Ygor is primarily interested in knocking off those who convicted him for his body-snatching exploits. Of course when the monster is granted full strength again Ygor manipulates him to do his bidding and the murders begin.

It was quite a task to follow up the preceding two films but I’m not so sure Universal were too concerned considering the money they had brought in. It’s an imaginative outing but also one that gives birth to a number of clichés along the way. I like the way the story unfolds, revealing a number of odd characters and quite a sinister bunch of narrow-minded villagers who judge all too quickly (possibly understandably but let’s not forget that the problems would have happened several decades before). The police inspector had his army career put on permanent hold by the removal of an arm at the hands of the monster when he was a boy, giving him some personal emotional investment in the return of the Frankensteins. The one-armed inspector now has to move the immobile false limb around with his real one in order to make any use out of it. The new baron is played eloquently by Basil Rathbone just prior to his long running stint as Sherlock Holmes but his motivations I’m unsure of - he is desperate to rid the family of a bad name but sets about bringing potency back to the very thing that ruined it in the first place. Surely easier to destroy it there and then? Plus he seems to go a little potty at one point only to return to complete amicable sanity for the film’s conclusion. Boris Karloff’s personality is subdued somewhat compared to Bride…, his learned ability to talk now gone again while a generally darker and less sympathetic presence prevails. Then there’s Ygor, the bane of horror film clichés… Bela Lugosi is quite unrecognisable in this role and I like the way he plays it. Aside from a ridiculous hairdo that has since been popularised by one or two boy bands, Ygor is a nasty individual with purely hostile intentions. The fact that he’s been hanged and survived adds to both the creepiness plus the humour - at one point the village courtroom attendees are arguing about whether he is technically dead and if he can be tried again. His bone protrudes from his neck, his teeth are almost vampiric, and he’s generally a mess both externally and internally. The monster’s make-up seems a little less meticulous here though it was apparently the result of Jack Pierce’s application once again. Clothed for the first time in that famous fleece body warmer his eventual appearance involves an enjoyably creepy build up to his reawakening as Ygor and Wolf set to work on him using Henry‘s notes. Two areas that deserve commendation: some of the set designs and the cinematography itself, both creating a warped, unique feel to the most significant locations, notably the baron’s house interiors and the entrance to the old derelict grounds. The stormy train journey sets up quite a nice atmosphere of foreboding unease and this is compounded when Wolf and his family arrive to hordes of villagers ominously standing waiting to witness his arrival, their faces hidden by soaked umbrellas.

The DVD visuals contain plenty of detail though there are instances of combing. Along the leftmost side of the image there’s a thin but strong blue electronic line present throughout, however this is not noticeable on equipment that overscans (either automatically or by volition). The classiness of the first two films is kind of absent with Son of Frankenstein but, clichés aside, I like the way they continued the story, maintaining continuity to an extent as well as injecting the original concept with a few new narrative ideas, thus there’s plenty to enjoy here.