The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)

Hammer’s sixth Frankenstein film is basically a retelling of their first but with a comedic slant, both direct and subtle. It sounds like a terrible idea on paper, doubly so when you find out that Cushing is absent, so it’s all the more surprising to find that it’s genuinely entertaining for the first hour, only going to shit once the creature appears. Ralph Bates takes on the Baron’s role, playing him with a supercilious and icy chill. Hammer semi-regular Veronica Carlson is the glamour, but her character is trounced by Kate O'Mara’s. As the house maid, O'Mara meets the Baron’s iron will with her own cold-cast one.

2½ late ventures out of 5

The Vampire Lovers (1970)

Hammer Horror starring Scream Queen Ingrid Pitt and featuring the wonderful Peter Cushing. The film attempts to disguise its lack of plot by having Ingrid’s cleavage heaving all over the frame and lusty busty lesbian embraces, but anyone over the age of twelve will see through that instantly.
Besides its enjoyably shameful tactics it’s a fun frolic through the vaults of alternative vampire lore in the usual Hammer style.
It’s the first part of the loosely connected Karnstein Trilogy; the others are Lust for a Vampire (1971) and Twins of Evil (1972).

3 not very clever pseudonyms out of 5