Suave and charming Count Frankenstein (Rossano Brazzi, who surprisingly keeps his dignity and a straight face throughout) kicks depraved, perverted, sniveling dwarf Genz (the great Michael Dunn in his ignominious final film role) out of his castle for being a disgusting little degenerate creep. Genz befriends Ook the Neanderthal man (brilliantly played with grunting'n'growling primitive aplomb by Boris Lugosi) and plots his revenge. Director Robert H. Oliver, working from an outrageously lurid and ridiculous script, puts an entertainingly crude and leering emphasis on sleazy sensationalism: there's a substantial smattering of gratuitous nudity (the stunningly comely Christiane Royce warrants special kudos in this particular department), voyeurism, rape, necrophilia, softcore sex, and even a hunchback who enjoys rough sex (thankfully this latter one occurs off-screen). Marcello Gigante's laughably inappropriate swingin' lounge score is pretty funny. A big knock-down, drag-out, no-holds-barred climactic fight between Ook and Frankenstein's enormous hulk of a monster Goliath (brawny behemoth Loren Bwing) is likewise totally hilarious. Poor Edmond Purdom merely takes up place in an insignificant supporting part as an ineffectual constable. Heavy-handed morale: "There's a bit of a monster in all of us. Especially when there's fear." A campy hoot.
Review of Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks
