“Frankenstein Conquers the World” Review

Frankenstein Conquers the World is, in my opinion, one of the most obscure daikaiju/science-fiction films produced by Toho during their Golden Era. Of course, it’s debatable as to when that era began and ended. Personally, I believe it to run from about 1956 to 1966. As of this writing, I have only seen this film about seven or eight times and I was introduced to this film back in 1995. I have some mixed feelings for this film in some spots, but I believe my overall impression of the movie is, and has been, fairly consistent throughout the years. Let’s get right into the review!

Story: There are some interesting elements to the story, such as Frankenstein having regenerative abilities and the Monster having been formed from the original Monster’s heart, but the concept, and even execution, isn’t quite there. I believe part of it stems from seeing an actual human being, dressed in furs, battle a man in a rubber suit on screen. It kind of takes me out of it as well as the fact that this version of Frankenstein isn’t physically imposing. Granted, the Monster is supposed to be stronger than several men, but I can’t help but to think that Baragon should have defeated Frankenstein somehow.

It’s also strange that, when the boy is discovered, it’s been twenty years since the end of the war. Apparently, the heart that spawned this Frankenstein took a while to form the Monster into a boy; but after he’s apprehended, Frankenstein begins to have an enormous growth spurt. How did this happen? It’s never explained. Also, Dr. Kawaji’s change of heart to want to re-capture Frankenstein is abrupt and, in a way, is unsatisfying. While his reasons to re-capture Frankenstein are for scientific purposes, it doesn’t appear that his has a battle of conscience and his changing of face doesn’t make a whole lot of sense due to it not having been explored any further.

It doesn’t appear that there is much of a story to be told in the first place. When I watch this movie anymore, I can’t help but to think particular scenes that don’t add anything significant to the film are there to fill in the running time. Much of the story is plodding and doesn’t add much of value. Quite frankly, I believe the introduction of Baragon was nothing more than to add entertainment value to a script that was weak to begin with. Even then, Baragon gets little screen time, and the movie would have been better served with him involved with the story more and/or have him battle Frankenstein more than once.

I don’t see much in this film’s story. Particular subplots are interesting, but are either brief or completely disregarded as the film progresses. This makes me think that the filmmakers knew there wasn’t much of a story to tell to begin with. Part of me almost believes that this movie should have been scrapped outside of being re-written.

Special Effects: Eiji Tsuburaya and his crew did a fantastic job with effects. The Baragon suit looks fabulous and even Frankenstein’s makeup is grotesque and believable. The countryside looks authentic as well as the structures that inhabit the communities. One of my favorite scenes is Baragon’s initial appearance at an oil rig. The ground collapses in realistic fashion and the spurting of oil, along with great detail on the miniatures, is a testament to the level of attention Tsuburaya brought with him as well as the pride he took in his work.

The only real bad effect were a couple of brief livestock scenes when Baragon attacked one particular village. The horses and pigs looked like the dolls they actually are, and it, sadly, contrasts with the rest of the film’s great effects work. Otherwise, Tsuburaya and crew did a fantastic job!

Acting: Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno, and Tadao Takashima are some of my favorite actors within Toho’s daikaiju eiga. Their performances here are great, but with a film, whose story is terribly lacking, their performances, sadly, suffer in some places. Some of the acting is either flat or complete hyperbole. A scene that has flat acting is when Adams visit’s Mizuno’s apartment for dinner  one evening. The dialogue and physical acting is flat and it seems as if both actors are unsure what to do and/or are awkward by the ridiculousness of some of the scenes they’re involved with.

Takashima has a moment of hyperbole near the end when he reveals his special grenades that he plans to use on Frankenstein. Takashima is known more for the Funny Guy comedies of the same period and such acting appears to be out of his range to be believable.

Regardless of some of my nitpicking and critical statements, the acting is very good and our main actors deliver a strong performance throughout much of the movie.

Battles: There aren’t too many battles/conflicts in the film to speak of. Outside of a few brief skirmishes, the ending battle is beautifully choreographed and the individual Frankenstein and Baragon scenes are fun to watch.

There was a deleted scene at the final part of the film involving Frankenstein battling a giant octopus. This scene is available on the recent Tokyo Shock DVD release and is a joy to watch as well. Of course, the reason why this scene was cut was because it really made no sense with the story.

The battle between Frankenstein and Baragon is the highlight of the film. The monsters deliver great blows to one another and you can feel their impact.

Overall: Frankenstein Conquers the World is produced well, but the story is the biggest problem here. The pacing is slow and there isn’t much meat on the bone. While I can appreciate the filmmakers in attempting to create a movie that is more than a smash-’em-up-monster-versus-monster movie, I think, for this project, it would have improved the final product. Either that, or having a shorter running time.

Our lead actors deliver wonderful performances despite some of the second and third billed actors giving really bland performances. The effects are beautiful and the final battle is a real treat that somewhat makes up for the lack of action throughout much of the film.

In the end, Frankenstein Conquers the World is a film that comes up a bit flat in my book. I think this film’s supposed sequel, War of the Gargantuas, is a vastly superior film that delivers on story and action. The film is even so-so amongst most daikaiju fans. I would still recommend checking it out but I would also add to not expect an entertaining film.