In 1818, Mary Shelley wrote a novel about a nightmare she had after being challenged to write a ghost story by Lord Bryon. This would become one of the most influential stories ever written. It not only helped to solidify the horror genre and gothic romance, but sci-fi and to some extent, it actually influenced medical technology. Of course, I'm talking about Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus.
But, it wasn't until the 1930's when Universal Studios made Their monster movies that pop-culture grabbed a hold of Frankenstein and made him a household name. Here's my take on what I consider to be some of the best movies in the Frankenstein sub-genre (Frankenstein is technically a vampire and belongs in the vampire genre/zombie sub-genre of vampires)
Let's start with The Bride of Frankenstein. This is a character who, although is never actually fully created in the original novel, has become an icon in pop-culture after the B/W movie from 1935. You will notice both the 1931 version of Frankenstein and the 1935 version of the Bride of Frankenstein are not on my personal lists. Iconic as they have become, for me personally, they just weren't very good.
The movie The Bride, picks up right after Frankenstein has created his first creature, and is about to hit the switch on his second. An accident breaks out in the lab, causing the creature to flee. We then follow the story of Eve, as she discovers why Frankenstein decided to create her. This is intercut with a second story, that of the creature who is leaning about life while being part of a traveling circus. Two parallel stories about self discovery, obsession, abuse and forgiveness. The two creatures are psychically connected and eventually meet.
Weird Science is all 1980's teen comedy, as two high school nerds decide to create the perfect woman. Unrealistic 80's technology somehow manages to bring to life an A.I. creature from doll parts and magazine cut outs. We then follow our leads as they become the popular kids just by having her in their life.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is maybe one of the few movies that falls into both categories. It can be viewed as both a straight up Frankenstein movie if you follow the character arch of Dr. Frank'n'Furter. Or it can be viewed as a Bride of Frankenstein movie, if you follow the character arch of Rocky. Either way, this genre crossing musical sci-fi comedy horror deals with self acceptance and taboos.
All three of these use sex as the big plot point or as a metaphor. Sexual freedom, sexual identity and the pure act of loosing your virginity.
Lisa Frankenstein. This would be the next film to fall into both categories. We follow our lead, Lisa, as she recovers from the loss of her mother. Grieving, she spends all her time in the local cemetery by a grave, that just happens to have a statue of the man buried there. She begins to form this romanticized attachment to the idea of the unknown man. When a freak electrical storm hits his grave, he returns as a zombie and searches her out. Together, they begin getting revenge on those around her in order to get him spare parts. If you look at the character of Lisa, she's representing both the usual Victor Frankenstein character, as well as the Bride. Flipping this, you also can see the Man as both the creature and at times the Victor Frankenstein character. Both perfectly embody elements from all three characters, but no one completely identifies as just one.
Rob Zombie's The Munsters. Once again, we have a movie that borders both Frankenstein and the Bride of Frankenstein. We're introduced first to the Doctor who is about to create his creature, whom his assistant names Herman Munster. While this is happening, we start to follow Lily as she is the one looking for a mate. Spotting Herman on television, it's love at first sight as she makes it a point to find him. The movie then moves into a romantic horror comedy.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The 1994 version starring Robert De Niro, has to be my all time favourite version of Frankenstein. I found it to be one of the most loyal to the original story, and it's just a breathtaking feat of cinematic glory. I remember when this movie came out at cinemas, and there was a bit of a controversy over a nude scene that De Niro has. It was less than 30 seconds, and it's not even a sexual scene. As the creature is being created or born depending on your point of view, he is ejected from a medical bath naked covered in amniotic fluids. We spend half the movie following him as he learns to survive on his own, having been rejected by Victor. This is paralleled by Victor and Elizabeth's love story. And it is Elizabeth who near the end, becomes the object of both men.
Tim Burton's Frankenweenie. This comes in two forms. It's original live action short film version from the early 1980's and it's animated version from 2012. Here the character of Victor is grieving over the death of his dog. He decides to bring him back to life after seeing his teacher's experiment in science class using a dead frog and electricity to explain conductivity.
Victor Frankenstein. This is seen through the eyes of his assistant Igor. We are first introduced to Igor as a hunchback circus act, who has some medical knowledge. When Victor sees him treat a woman's broken shoulder, he decides to bring him home with him. Victor preforms minor surgery on Igor removing the mass on his back, and they begin to create their creature. This plays out like a buddy crime story.
Edward Scissorhands. When a lonely inventor decides to create a son for himself, he dies before being able to give him hands. The creature is discovered by a family who decide to take him in. He ends up falling in love with the daughter, but the town refuse to leave them be. I once had a conversation with someone about our favourite Johnny Depp movies, and this was their top film. I said I thought it wasn't his best, but as a Frankenstein story, it was brilliant. The person looked at me for several minutes before he admitted he'd never made that connection before. That confused me. How could you not know this is a modern take on Frankenstein? Specially since Tim Burton had already done his earlier version of Frankenweenie?
The Monster Squad. We follow a group of kids who are obsessed with classic monsters, as they learn they are real when Dracula moves in down the street. He wakens Frankenstein in order to help him find a lost gem with the power to open a portal. The kids have to stop them but no one believes them at first. This is a movie about perception. How the kids see themselves, how the towns people see them, and how we see the actual monsters. Done in the 1980's when people were just really starting to talk about the events of WWII; doesn't just use monsters as a metaphor, but tackles the topic of those events head on with a sub-plot around the older German character. Although, Frankenstein is a main character in this, his side of the plot could have been beefed up a bit. But, I always felt it captured the soul of what Mary Shelley had written in the first half of her novel.
Frankenstein 2013. We follow a female doctor this time as she brings to life a creature from DNA. This could be seen as a metaphor for In-Vetro Fertilization. The creature then finds himself living on the streets with a homeless man and a prostitute. But, he's dying at a rapid rate because of a mistake in his creation. What I liked about this is that, it takes the idea of the motherhood aspect and adds to it all the fears that can come with it. The fact some women are desperate to create life even after failed attempts, the chance that medically something could go wrong and then the grief and guilt of that process.
Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound. Here we are given a time traveling story that takes us back to the actual weekend Mary Shelley wrote the first draft of the novel. This is on my list because it was such a different take on the story. I can't even say it's a great version, only that it was bold in it's predictions of climate change and how technology would eventually be part of that change. Not even a metaphor, this movie is in your face with it's message, which for a 1990's film, was a major risk.
Re-Animator. Okay, the H.P. Lovecraft story about a mad doctor who starts to bring back the dead. The Lovecraft novel version is a little more on the Mary Shelley side, which is the direct inspiration; while the movie version uses a toxic serum to reanimate the dead. This is one of those instants where you know it's a Frankenstein story only there's no Frankenstein. Re-Animator, in movie form anyways, is a nice bridge between the classic Frankenstein and Return of the Living Dead.
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