Frankenstein - The horror with the monkey face

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Movie
German title Frankenstein - The horror with the monkey face
Original title フ ラ ン ケ ン シ ュ タ イ ン 対 地 底 怪 獣
Country of production Japan
original language Japanese
Publishing year 1965
length 94 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Ishirō Honda
script Takeshi Kimura ,
production Tomoyuki Tanaka
music Akira Ifukube
camera Hajime Koizumi
cut Ryōhei Fujii
occupation
chronology

Successor  →
Frankenstein - duel of the giants

Frankenstein - The horror with the monkey face ( Japanese フ ラ ン ケ ン シ ュ タ イ ン 対 地 底 怪 獣 , Furankenshutain tai chitei kaijû Baragon ) is a Japanese Kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda . The film was produced by the Tōhō studio, which is best known for the films in the Godzilla series. In 1966 the only official sequel appeared with Frankenstein - Duel of the Giants .

action

The action begins in World War II , around 1945. Nazis break into the laboratory of Dr. Reisendorf and remove the heart of the famous Frankenstein monster in order to take it to Hiroshima in Japan by submarine . Shortly after handing it over to Japanese scientists, the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima . Since the heart is indestructible, it survives but is lost.

16 years later, Dr. James Bowen and his assistants Dr. Ken'ichirou Kawaji and Dr. Sueko Togami found an ape-like boy in Hiroshima who lives in caves and feeds on live animals, and they take him away without further ado. The boy is researched by the three scientists and the media develop great interest in him. Dr. Bowen discovers that the boy is of the " Caucasian race " and is immune to ionizing radiation .

Former Captain Kawai, who then brought Frankenstein's heart to Japan, currently works in an oil factory in Akita Prefecture . At work, the earth suddenly begins to shake, and he sees a red monster - Baragon - come out of the earth and then immediately disappear again.

In the meantime, the boy has grown to immense size in a relatively short time, which Dr. Bowen is scary. He chains the monster to the wall in a prison cell and swallows the key to the lock. Dr. However, Togami is concerned about the boy and feeds him high-protein foods to keep him healthy. Captain Kawai pays Bowen a visit and tells him that the boy was probably mutated by the radioactivity of the atomic bomb in Frankenstein's heart , since the heart was lost in the explosion and the boy bears a great resemblance to Frankenstein. On Bowen's direction, Dr. Kawaji to Frankfurt to Dr. Reisendorf and let him tell you the story of Frankenstein. He also tells him that the monster is immortal as long as it ingests enough protein and it quickly regrows its severed body parts. Back in Japan, the doctors want to test this and even invite a television team to broadcast everything live. In the middle of the process, the monster, which from now on bears the name Frankenstein , tears the chains, breaks out of the laboratory in an orgy of destruction and flees into the forest. During the escape, he passes Okayama , where he eats a few animals, and finally stays at Mount Ibuki , where he uproots trees out of anger and destroys rocks.

A few days later, Baragon reappears from inside the earth and devastates cities, all of whose inhabitants are killed. The scientists blame Frankenstein for this and incite the military on him, which fights him with all means (including missiles , tanks ). But you cannot harm it. Out of anger, he destroys their tanks and cannons and eats several of the men alive. When Captain Kawai learns of this, he immediately reports to Dr. Bowen and tells him about Baragon, the monster in Akita. Together with Dr. Togami, with whom Frankenstein has a very good relationship, they go in search of him in order to appease him.

Bowen, Sueko and Kawaji go with a group of soldiers into the forest where they suspect Frankenstein is. On the way, Kawaji suggests killing Frankenstein and saving his heart and brain, as he can no longer be appeased, which the other two do not agree with. On their search for Frankenstein, however, they come across Baragon, whom Bowen and Kawaji throw grenades at when Frankenstein appears. A huge battle of the giants between the two monsters begins, in which Frankenstein wins. He then says goodbye to the scientists and disappears into the mountains to stay away from humanity.

Alternative ending

In the alternative ending, a gigantic octopus roars out of the sea and, after a short fight, pulls the injured Frankenstein into the depths of the sea. The same octopus can also be seen in the sequel Frankenstein - Duel of the Giants , in which he is killed by Frankenstein's opponent Gaira .

World premieres

  • Japan: August 8, 1965
  • USA: July 8, 1966
  • Germany: July 13, 1967

Sequels

A sequel has appeared on Frankenstein - The Terror with the Monkey Face :

In a duel between the giants , the Frankenstein creature fights Sanda, a colossus Geira mutated from his cells. In the end, both monsters are killed. The plot follows on from the end of the predecessor.

Due to the success of Frankenstein - The Terror with the Monkey Face , many films in the Godzilla , Gamera and King Kong series, which actually have nothing in common with Frankenstein, were advertised as a continuation of this film in Germany for financial reasons . Here are some examples:

Reviews

"Modification of the Frankenstein theme with an accumulation of horror and catastrophe effects."

- Lexicon of international film

"A simply constructed fantasy strip based more on trick effects for adult children."

- Protestant film observer

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ World premieres according to IMDb
  2. ↑ Frankenstein - The horror with the monkey face. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ↑ Evangelical Press Association, Munich, Review No. 306/1967