Hysteria (1965)

Many, many years before the name was seared onto the minds of rock fans by the mighty Def Leppard, Hysteria was title familiar, perhaps, to fans of Hammer movies. An enjoyable, twisted thriller from the studio, Hysteria is a movie that I enjoyed a hell of a lot more than I was expecting. It's also, in my opinion, a film that seems to have influenced the much more recent Trance.

The story revolves around Chris Smith (Robert Webber), a man who is undergoing treatment after an accident has left him with a severe case of amnesia. His treatment is being paid for by a mysterious benefactor, but perhaps that treatment isn't entirely succeeding, judging by the voices that he starts to hear in a nearby apartment. Chris starts to worry about his sanity. He's a man fraying at the ends, but does that mean he could end up murdering someone. Or has he murdered in the past? Perhaps that's what his brain is not letting him remember.

Written by Jimmy Sangster, and directed by Freddie Francis, this is really good stuff from start to finish. The lead character is someone viewers end up sticking with, despite the fact that suspicions arise that he may not have been the nicest guy ever in his past. This is ambiguous, but nicely done, and the plot reveals are well done and, within the context of the film, plausible.

Webber does well in the lead role, understandably frustrated as he struggles to remember his recent past, and there's decent support from Anthony Newlands, Jennifer Jayne, Lelia Goldoni and Peter Woodthorpe, but it's Maurice Denham who threatens to steal the movie as a seemingly mild and passive private detective who can handle himself with ease whenever things heat up.

I'm really surprised that this isn't a better known, or more highly regarded movie. Hammer made a number of movies that could be classed as Hitchcockian, and this is one of the most entertaining. At least give it a watch some time if you get the chance, I'd like to think that more people will enjoy it once they've been pointed towards it.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/Hysteria-Robert-Webber/dp/B005OT7Z5A/ref=sr_1_5?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1379941999&sr=1-5&keywords=hysteria

The Evil Of Frankenstein (1964)

Written by Anthony Hinds, and directed by Freddie Francis, The Evil Of Frankenstein is another of the consistently entertaining Hammer movies focusing on the ongoing difficulties of Herr Baron (played once more by the great Peter Cushing). It's not as good as some of the other Frankenstein movies but it's still worth seeing if you're a fan of the character.

The Baron tries, once again, to return to a place he was once driven out of with an assistant (Hans, played by Sandor Eles) in tow. This time it is the town of Karlstaad. It will be worth it if he can resurrect his creature and come up with some way to communicate with its damaged mind. That method of communication may be found in the shape of a hypnotist named Zoltan (Peter Woodthorpe) if everything goes according to plan but, alas for poor Baron Frankenstein, things rarely go according to plan.

I like the character of Baron Frankenstein when he's portrayed as he is in this movie, a man who really does have the answers to the big questions in life but is beset by attacks from the morally indignant masses and attempts to ruin his good name.

Peter Cushing, if you don't realise how good he is by now then I can't help you but, rest assured, he's one of my all-time favourites for good reason. Sandor Eles is okay, though he doesn't get too much to do, and Peter Woodthorpe is a lot of fun as Zoltan, the hypnotist who quickly realises how he can use the situation to feather his own nest a little. Duncan Lamont is enjoyable as the Karlstaad Chief Of Police and Katy Wild does just fine in the rather thankless role of "beggar girl". The creature this time around is played by wrestler Kiwi Kingston so there's certainly a solid physicality to the monster, if little else. The design work may hark back to the Universal flicks of old but it ends up being quite a disappointment.

Hinds laces the script with a few good lines, as per usual when it comes to dialogue uttered by the good Baron, but the direction from Francis is flat and lifeless. There's enough here to please Hammer fans but that's probably more to do with goodwill than good film-making on this occasion.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Evil-Frankenstein-DVD-Peter-Woodthorpe/dp/B000W2223O/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1351588008&sr=1-1