Engaging characters played by very good actors and an intriguing premise for a story, initially provide solid entertainment.
After a while it becomes clearer that the story is not going to progress to anything new or interesting. A very wasted opportunity and certainly one of the reasons why the movie failed to draw audiences. The "monster from hell" doesn't match its description, unless the costume was made by the devil to have a laugh. Its oddly furry and monstrous appearance is never convincingly explained, considering that the man must already have looked like that before baron Frankenstein had stitched new hands onto him.
The film's focus is to unnerve and gross out, in a calm and slow pacing. Nowadays that'll only succeed with inexperienced or extremely sensitive viewers. There's only a minimal amount of action and horror will never occur, due to the lacking quality of the costume, which already failed to convince in the 70s. Still, the characters/actors do their best, provide good dialog and basically carry the movie. The building that the majority of the story takes place in, is a convincing setting. The costumes work well too. That also goes for Cushing's wig that many other reviewers consider ridiculous. It's a hairdo you would have seen a lot at the time.
The film's focus is to unnerve and gross out, in a calm and slow pacing. Nowadays that'll only succeed with inexperienced or extremely sensitive viewers. There's only a minimal amount of action and horror will never occur, due to the lacking quality of the costume, which already failed to convince in the 70s. Still, the characters/actors do their best, provide good dialog and basically carry the movie. The building that the majority of the story takes place in, is a convincing setting. The costumes work well too. That also goes for Cushing's wig that many other reviewers consider ridiculous. It's a hairdo you would have seen a lot at the time.