This late-1950s horror film, considered low-budget schlock, manages to be effective in certain respects. A contemporary American character reminiscent of Dr. Frankenstein (played by Jason Evers) attempts to locate a suitable body for his fiancée (Virginia Leith) following her death in a car accident that resulted in decapitation. While her head remains on life support, the doctor searches for an appropriate vessel and eventually focuses on a model with facial disfigurement (Adele Lamont). Leslie Daniel portrays the doctor’s assistant, while Eddie Carmel takes on the role of the mysterious being confined to a locked room. Filmed in black and white in 1959, the film wasn't released until 1962 due to its shocking and suggestive content. It’s simple to dismiss older, cheaply made horror films like this with amusement after blockbusters such as "Star Wars" became popular in the late 1970s, but they were once culturally significant. If you can overlook noticeable plot inconsistencies and the film's limited budget, there is much to appreciate; it’s not a good movie overall, but it proves entertaining in various ways and even unexpectedly frightening. Yes, it draws heavily from "Frankenstein," but the concept of transplanting a head presents an intriguing twist. The first successful kidney transplant occurred in 1954, with another following in 1962, so this was still a new idea when the film was made in '59 and released in '62. Remarkably, head transplants were already being performed on animals during the 1950s, and are now emerging as a possible option for humans (though I'm sure there have been attempts by real-life Frankensteins). The movie surprisingly does well with its female characters, with Adele Lamont standing out as a small-stature model. In the European release she appears topless during a photo shoot sequence. Timeless Media released the film on DVD in 2013, including a supplemental section that shows this scene, which is around 80 seconds long. Virginia Leith also performs well as the character who understandably becomes more unstable throughout the story. The notion that she develops telepathy and communicates with the creature in the closet adds an interesting element. There are a few unexpectedly horrific or bloody scenes that remain somewhat unsettling even today. Jan’s demonic laughter amidst fiery chaos is effective, along with the irony of identifying who the true monster is and isn't. Unfortunately, the narrative drags at times and has too much dialogue; it probably should have been trimmed by about ten minutes, but even these slower sections possess a certain appeal. The uncut version, which I watched, runs 83 minutes. The film was shot in Tarrytown, New York, roughly 30 miles north of Manhattan on the east side of the Hudson River. GRADE: B

Source on TMDB