Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969 UK)

The 5th Hammer Frankenstein film, after Frankenstein Created Woman (67). This one has a strange plot, propelled by Frankenstein's (Peter Cushing) need to get information from a former colleague who has lost his mind due to pressures and is confined to an insane asylum. Frankenstein involves a young couple (Simon Ward & Veronica Carlson) in his plans, blackmailing them because he knows about their illegal measures for the young woman's mother. The young man is a psychiatrist working at the asylum and can help Frankenstein in breaking out the target. From that point on, it's more brain transplant surgery, now an old trope in this film series and child's play for the mad doctor.
Cushing as Frankenstein is more ruthless than ever in this installment, recalling the Baron of the first film, The Curse of Frankenstein. He thinks nothing of using the body of another psychiatrist - killing him in effect - as his former colleague's new body. He is very cold to the young couple, ruining their lives for his own gains. There's also a bizarre scene of Frankenstein also giving in to his carnal desires at one point, apparently raping the young woman. The young people here, however, while presented as having their innocence crushed by the evil doctor, also seem very apt at stabbing people in that 'I didn't mean to do it' fashion. Frankenstein also provides a final scene of brutality in regards to the young woman, proving himself as irredeemable and thoroughly evil.
The final act provides for some intriguing scenes involving the man with  a new body (Freddie Jones), visiting his wife. He's not really a monster, just the victim of a brain transplant. She seems to have no comprehension of the situation, however, having buried her husband days before. The finale offers some spectacle as the key characters confront each other in a burning mansion, a fiery climax. Thorley Walters, in the role of Frankenstein's confederate in the previous film, here plays the police chief. BoG's Score: 7 out of 10

Frank Trivia: the next film in the series was Horror of Frankenstein, featuring a new, younger Victor Frankenstein and without Peter Cushing