It's a well made movie, which especially in the beginning is more engaging than many films with much higher budget in the past 20 years.
The story is centered on Doctor Frankenstein's criminal endeavors and although he is not a character to sympathize with in this interpretation, the story cleverly involves other people to bring about tension as we follow his murderous methods.
Towards the end, the plot loses momentum rapidly, sacrificing any potential excitement to instead unsuccessfully evoke a sense of drama for a character the audience will hardly care about. Frankenstein becomes a little too inhuman and some figures, that initially seemed central to the plot, are not part of the final chapter, without explanation. It's quite unfortunate. Without a smart conclusion in the last third of the movie, the story becomes quite forgettable and unsatisfying.
A particularly bad addition to the film was demanded by its distributors, shortly before production finished. I won't give it away in this spoiler-free review, but if you wish to know, it's being prominently mentioned in the *spoiler* section of the *trivia*. Peter Cushing hated this script change for the right reasons.
Positives outweigh the negatives, though. Worthwhile viewing.
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