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THE RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN
(1972)
aka THE EROTIC RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN
aka THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN
Directed by Jess Franco
Image Entertainment DVD
Reviewed 11.09.06
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
You've got to fight for your rites.
Usually. Master Franco, the floor
is yours.
Reverb flutters from the coattails
of Dracula,
Prisoner Of Frankenstein;
there lies The Rites Of Frankenstein.
A direct-yet-indirect follow up
to the supreme Dracula,
Rites paints a portrait
of director-writer Jess Franco at
home. Relaxing. Enjoying a pipe.
Taking in a good novel. With the
living room as his oyster, J.F.
lays his abilities (and obsessions)
bare and lets 'em breathe. This
film curbs all traditional monster
thematics. In lieu, it lets us float
by on a whispery cloud, aghast at
the sight of a silver-skinned Frankenstein
monster whipping a half-naked couple
into submission; stunned by the
blood-lusting of a randy Bird Woman.
Unorthodox? Certainly...and naturally.
The privacy of a person's home encourages
the inner weirdo. Welcome to the
Franco roost.
Cagliostro. The Sect Of Panthos.
The Night Of The Dead. Are the trivial
details important? Not really. In
a nutshell, ancient mystic Cagliostro
(Howard Vernon) and his blind, sidekick
Bird Woman Melisa (Anne Libert)
kill Dr. Frankenstein (Dennis Price),
steal his monster, and plan to make
Mr. C "the master of the world!"
through forceful sex and violence.
Good plan. Dr. Seward and Vera,
Frankenstein's daughter, make separate
attempts to stop them. Gypsy Esmeralda
(Lina Romay) wanders through a forest
under Cagliostro's magnetic mind
control. Rubber-masked zombies hang
out at the castle. Whips, wool sweaters,
modeling, and impossible decapitation
-- all this and a triumphant bad
guy, too!
When Cagliostro bellows "You
must combine beauty and submission!",
you'll buy it. Utilizing the same
cast of Franco regulars as Dracula,
Prisoner Of Frankenstein, Rites
spreads out and roguishly switches
gears. There's no classic monster
checklist. The film places emphasis
on a flowing experience; mandating
its audience to spellbound visuals
and intimate, chincy strangeness.
It’s gutter-poetry in motion.
Beauty...and submission.
Photography is stunning. The camera
focuses less on Franco's erratic
swerving and more on cinematographer
Raúl Artigot's (The
Witches Mountain) rich,
curious compositions. A preference
for red-bathing spotlights helps.
Dialogue and free form music crack
up together, mixing statements about
"throbbing flesh" with
dense bursts of piano, recorder,
and organs. Abstract noises clutter
the soundtrack when the music cues
can't cut it. Sexy hints and fudged
make-up hang around the endless
exotic landscapes, and the laughably
fake gore trails behind. Obviously,
Rites is one of the more
peculiar clumps of 1970s monster-trash
you're likely to find. So what's
the catch?
There's a limit to repetitive roaming,
no matter how pretty the ride. Rites
starts to skim that edge around
the fifty minute mark. Talk is cheap
and Franco knows it. Your eyelids
will most likely droop accordingly.
Isn't that what usually happens
towards the end of a cozy night
at home? Sounds rite to me.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Presented in its original 2.35:1
anamorphic shooting ratio, Rites
makes a Region 1 debut with nothing
but class. The print was nearly
flawless. I noticed three white
speckles. Just three. Colors are
rich, yet subdued, and clarity was
tight. Darkness reigned in a few
scenes, but never affected the whole.
The mono sound left no stone unturned;
dialogue (spoken in Spanish) and
music were thick and moldy. English
subtitles are also included, but
you can't remove them.
EXTRAS
Pubes on parade! Included for your
examination are 12 minutes of alternate,
English-dubbed footage from the
film's "unclothed" version.
We get new opening credits (as The
Curse Of Frankenstein), lots
of fully bared flesh, extended sequences,
one new scene, and a few impressive
collections of overgrown pubic hair.
The footage is fuzzy and runny like
an old VHS, but still quite saucy.
The back cover lists a still gallery,
but you won't find one on the disc.
Staggeringly cool cover art more
than makes up for that.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Gather 'round the living room.
The Rites Of Frankenstein is
a whispery ballad to Jess Franco's
movie-monster perversions. I really
like it. A lot. However, this is
not a film for the curious. If you're
into Dracula, Prisoner Of Frankenstein,
Rites is a natural extension.
Submit. |
Our team
'Neath the sheetz
M. Shelley wouldn't approve
Don't call him Ringo
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