You can’t keep a good monster down, so it’s virtually impossible to negate the powers of two of them. Despite their apparent demise at the end of 1943’s Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, both of those characters return in 1944’s House of Frankenstein - and they bring Dracula along for good measure.

House takes us a while to get to them, as the movie initially focuses on a mad scientist named Dr. Gustav Niemann (Boris Karloff). Jailed for his unpleasant experiments, Niemann escapes from prison when a lightening bolt happens to destroy the joint. Along with hunchbacked assistant Daniel (J. Carrol Naish), Niemann sets out to wreak revenge on all those who harmed him.

In his quest for vengeance, Niemann murders a traveling sideshow operator named Lampini (George Zucco) and pretends to be him. Lampini’s prime attraction? A skeleton alleged to be that of Count Dracula (John Carradine). Needless to say, the world’s most famous bloodsucker soon returns to life, though he makes only a brief appearance in the film.

After that, Niemann heads to the remains of Frankenstein’s castle, where he plans to pick up on those experiments. Daniel digs this idea, for he wants to have his brain placed inside a more appealing body, especially since he lusts after sexy gypsy babe Ilonka (Elena Verdugo).

However, Ilonka likes someone else, as along the ride, they meet Larry “The Wolf Man” Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) and she instantly tries to hook up with him. They also find the frozen monster created by Frankenstein (Glenn Strange), and he gets revived.

Ironically, this creature may lend his name to the title, but he plays the smallest role in the flick. Niemann is the main character, while Daniel comes in second and Talbot third.

The Dracula subplot feels totally gratuitous and useless, though I d0 think Rita Hussman (Anne Gwynne) was a true babe, and she provided a good performance as well. She deserved more screen time.

Really, much of House repeats material seen in Meets, but despite its incoherent nature, I think House brings the more satisfying film. Largely that occurs because of Karloff.

Boris was easily the finest actor of the monster portrayers seen over the years, and Lugosi and Chaney weren’t fit to carry his neck bolts. He adds a nicely demented and commanding tone to Niemann that makes the stereotypical mad scientist character more satisfying.

Also, House simply seems more fun than Meets. The latter feels long-winded and unexciting, whereas the former manages to provide scads of random terror and violence.

Neither film bothers with a coherent plot, but at least House conjures up some interesting action scenes. It delivers much of what we want from this kind of “jack of all trades” flick, though the all-inclusive nature means that it doesn’t achieve greatness.

House of Frankenstein becomes undeniably one of the silliest of the monster flicks, as it places the creatures in contrived circumstances just so we get more of them. Nonetheless, the movie offers a fair amount of fun material.

None of it makes sense, and the Dracula detour seems actively distracting. A weak performance from John Carradine as the Count doesn’t help. Despite that misstep, House provides a decent little horror excursion in spite of itself.

House of Frankenstein appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. While not the best of the Universal monsters transfers, House nonetheless looked quite good.

In general, sharpness satisfied, as the movie usually appeared well-defined. Some softness popped up for the occasional shot, but the majority of the flick boasted nice delineation.

Shimmering and jaggies remained absent, and edge haloes also failed to appear. The movie’s grain structure felt natural, and print flaws didn’t mar the proceedings, though I saw a minor sense of “warping” for one brief shot in chapter six.

Blacks appeared deep and dark, and contrast came across well. Shadows generally held up nicely, though a few nighttime exteriors displayed a bit of murkiness. Though the image didn’t excel, it still gave us a positive presentation.

Similar thoughts greeted the sturdy DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack of House, as it held up nicely over the decades. Speech could seem a bit distant at times, but lines were intelligible and concise enough.

Music and effects displayed the expected restricted dynamic range, but they showed acceptable clarity and didn’t suffer from distortion. The mix lacked pops, clicks, hum, or other defects. This was a more than competent track for a movie from the 1940s.

How did the Blu-ray compare to the original 2001 DVD? Audio was more concise and clear, while visuals appeared tighter, cleaner and more cinematic. The DVD offered a problematic presentation, so the Blu-ray became a radical upgrade.

In terms of extras, we find the film’s trailer and nothing else.

With House of Frankenstein, the Universal Classic Monsters series became gimmicky. Despite the silliness inherent in these crossover flicks, this one remains acceptably entertaining. The Blu-ray brings pretty good picture and audio but it lacks supplements. House gives us an inconsistent but mildly enjoyable experience.

As of fall 2018, House of Frankenstein can be purchased as part of a seven-film “Wolf Man Complete Legacy Collection”. In addition to House, we find The Wolf Man, She-Wolf of London, Werewolf of London, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Dracula, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

House of Frankenstein also be found as part of an eight-film “Frankenstein Complete Legacy Collection”. In addition to Ghost, we find Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Dracula, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

House of Frankenstein also be found as part of an eight-film “Frankenstein Complete Legacy Collection”. In addition to House, we find Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Dracula, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

House of Frankenstein also can be found as part of a seven-film “Dracula Complete Legacy Collection”. In addition to House, we find Dracula, the 1931 Spanish language Dracula, Dracula’s Daughter, Son of Dracula, House of Dracula, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

In addition, House comes in the “Universal Monsters Complete 30-Film Collection”. It actually packages the Frankenstein, Dracula and Wolf Man sets mentioned above with similar compilations for other Universal Monsters.