A spooktober would not feel complete without a classic, this year I look at Frankenstein. One of the biggest monster movies ever made featuring the absolutely fantastic Boris Karloff. But does this thirties monster mash still hold up? We are about to find out!
This is a story that most of you probably already know, either from the books or from the hundreds of movie adaptions, but I’ll recap. There once was a doctor who was a little bit too obsessed about immortality. Dr Frankenstein is a man obsessed with trying to play God. He wants to bring a corpse back to life. On one stormy night he succeds, but there is a problem. It’s not a man, it’s a monster!
This movie still stands strong today. With the aloof acting of Boris Karloff the monster feels like it’s raw, dumb and dangerous. The constant confusion and smiles that comes across Frankensteins face is unsettling. The cold hard industrial feel of the laboratory, the maniac that is the doctor and the chilling implications, is what makes this movie compelling to this day!
As a modern horror fanatic I can say that yes, the effects are dated. This is to be expected since the movie is pushing 90 years by now. With that said it still holds up remarkably well. The monster costume feels realistic and the scale of it is incredible. It might not reach the 8 feet that’s in the books but Karloff still manages to stand well above everyone else. The filming and art direction feels like a pure spinoff of German Expressionism with its distorted castle and its outlandish feel.
This is a classic that will forever stand the test of time. It teels a tale of playing God, mania and the raw forces of nature. If for whatever reason you have missed out on this masterpiece you need to rectify this. NOW
