Frankenstein

I was worried that this might come off cheesy or corny, a product of its time that earned its reputation because of then-current trends and not through timelessness. I’m happy to be wrong. Frankenstein those worries were baseless. Frankenstein never once lapses into camp or falls victim to styles of the time. Nobody in the cast treats the material as anything less than what it is: the tragic story of a man trying to cross a scientific barrier that he shouldn’t, and the consequences of succeeding, and the creature that represents that transgression. One could even argue there is no antagonist in this movie, just a series of unfortunate events, and it is still an effective story. Of course, though, one can’t discuss this movie without mentioning Boris Karloff’s performance and the make-up work on the monster. Karloff’s performance is perfect. It really doesn’t need explanation; it is pitch perfect, and it is all done with body language and facial expressions. The make-up is, of course, iconic, and it is for a reason. You can’t find a fault in it, anywhere. If I were awarding points based on how it lived up to expectations, this would be higher. But I rate on personal experience, and there were some issues with it. The editing is wonky at points, messing up the chronology of events, and the pacing in the middle sags a bit because of it. But most of all, the ending, and I mean the final scene, is so jarring and abrupt, it feels like there’s a small reel someone forgot to cue up. Those flaws aside, it’s still an incredible movie and deserves all the reverence it gets. It is a must watch for any horror fan, or even movie fan in general.