Set among the forest of buildings that is New York, director Larry Fessenden retells one of horrors best written tales ever written by not only shifting the setting and the time period but the focus of the subject. One is reminded of the quote “An intelligent man knows Frankenstein wasn’t the monster. A wise man knows that Frankenstein was the monster?”.
Amidst a dusty warehouse apartment with a shonky makeshift lab we find Alex is struggling to bring his creation to life together with his partner, Polidori, (famous for writing “The Vampyr” in 1816 as part of a contest including Mary Shelley, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley).
The strong motif of PTSD plays throughout the film complimented by the cinematic angles and camera movements, as much of the film is achieved using POV shots, which made a far more honest portrayal of the beast, the monster … Adam. Though this film was shot on a budget, this is not at all apparent besides some tight shots during a roof top fight scene but it does not detract from this brilliantly eerie film.
Donald F. Glut takes on both writing and directing duties to oversee an adaptation of his collection of short stories, which serves as a ‘love song’ to Mary Shelley’s creation. It’s hard to believe that Shelley’s novel celebrated its bicentenary last year, and Glut certainly knows his subject, pouring into every crevice of his source material to pay homage to and draw out four stories.
Our first story, “My Creation, My Beloved” set in Bavaria, 1887, is probably the most faithful with a Frankenstein descendant, who is a cross between the scientist and deformed assistant, Igor, continues in his ancestors obsession for resurrection and beauty, only to be thwarted in his own lustful pursuit. Excellent performance here from Buddy Daniels Freedman as Dr Gregore Frankenstein.
The second tale, “Crawler from the Grave” feels like the most fun, and finds ourselves in Switzerland, 1910 and sees John Blyth Barrymore (Full Moon High) as Vincent, another Frankenstein descendant who is hunted down by a disembodied hand from the grave.
Our third story, “Madhouse of Death” felt the weakest of the quartet of tales in my humble opinion, but this could very well be down to taste. Set in Los Angeles, 1948, the story also serves as a salute to the golden era of Hollywood and the film noir detective films with Sam Malone et al, and for that I commend its approach. Essentially we see a detective take on more than he gambled when he uncovers an old house full of crazies and home to a gorilla.
The last tale ends strongly, and in many ways one after my own heart, as those who know me can attest, as it is the most closely associated with the Hammer Horror films that I grew up with as a kid. With “Dr. Karnstein’s Creation” set in Transylvania, 1957, we’re presented with a clever fusion between Frankenstein and the most infamous creature of the night, Dracula complete with torch wielding locals hellbent on turning the tables on the mad doctor who resides in the castle. Another fine performances in this section, notably from Jim Tavaré.
The Diagnosis:
You can tell that the creators are a lover of their subject and embellish Mary Shelley’s story for a modern generation whilst still staying faithful to its origins. Director/writer Glut carves up four fantastic stories that reawaken the macabre moments that made Frankenstein a household name in horror and celebrates 200 years, highlighting the reasons why this ageless tale will never die.
We’ve barely a decade of horror under their Universal belts, the powerhouse production company was struggling once more to pull in the numbers at the box office. So it’s with some sense of irony that the movies that started it all in Dracula and Frankenstein would be screened as a double feature and reignite the craze all over again. The stunt would be so successful that Universal Pictures would look to producing another instalment of their beloved monster franchise with Son of Frankenstein, in what would be the third of the series.
In Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, Universal had created two classic features, thanks to the direction of James Whale, where some have argued that the latter outweighed its predecessor. Whatever your views on the matter, it would be a touch act to follow and into the directors shoes steps Rowland V. Lee (The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers) to try and accomplish this task.
The result is one that is worthy of the
Frankenstein name, despite it bordering on silliness and camp on occasion. (A
sign of the direction that Universal would fall into down the track.)
With grand plans to shoot the film in
colour using Technicolor only to be disbanded due to artistic and budgetary
reasons, Son of Frankenstein would be
presented to the audience in black and white and reunite the horror icons, Bela
Lugosi and Boris Karloff. In this instance, the latter donning the Monster mask
for the last time in a feature film. The two would once again prove to be a
winning formula with Lugosi playing the deformed Ygor and practically stealing
the show with his performance. In an interesting turn of events, it is Ygor who
is the dominant presence and has The Monster at his beckoning call, as he
commands the creature to kill those that have proved him ill in the past.
Leading the cast as the son of Frankenstein
is Basil Rathbone (The Adventures of
Robin Hood) who cuts a fine figure of a man trying to right his fathers’
wrongs and changing the perceived conception of his family name. It would have
been interesting had Peter Lorre had played the role as he had been cast, but
had to withdraw due to illness. It’s a shame because I’m a huge fan of Lorre
and would loved to see him cast against Lugosi and Karloff, but as I said,
Rathbone more than proves his worth.
A worthy nod should also be assigned
towards Lionel Atwill (Mark of the
Vampire) as Inspector Krogh, a character whose past encounter saw his arm
torn off his limb as a child when he came into contact with The Monster. It’s a
stoic performance and Atwill shines in an already crowded cast of
personalities.
The
Diagnosis:
It’s a fitting end to this chapter in the
Universal Horror history. Son of Frankenstein manages to
harness all the right ingredients to make it a worthy companion to its predecessors,
whilst falling on the right side of drama and terror for its time.
Lugosi and Karloff are in their element and would ride out on a high. Around the corner a new king to the throne would lay in wait in Lon Chaney Jr… but that’s another tale.
I remember first time that I watched this film guided by the critical praise that had been heaped upon it and feeling somewhat bewildered by this.
I couldn’t get beyond Doctor Pretorius’ invention of the little people, which the FX were incredibly convincing for it’s time, but I just found that it threw me out of the picture because it defied logic and reasoning.
The science behind the novel and indeed it’s predecessor were ground in reality, but this felt like it had crossed a line and into the world of fantasy.
Some people out there might suggest that this is a good thing, but despite Bride of Frankenstein being described as James Whale’s masterpiece, I struggled.
Fast forward to today, when I sat down to review the movie once more, I still stinted at Pretorius’ revelation, but pushed this aside to discover a new-found appreciation for the film.
The opening in particular was a refreshing nod to the inspiration, and creator behind the novel, Mary Shelley.
It recounts of the now infamous discussions between Mary Shelley, her husband Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron.
In this instance she recounts how the original story was only the tip of the iceberg and ventured to tell the tale of more monsters lurking within.
It is here that the story picks up where Frankenstein left off, with the supposed demise of the monster within the burning windmill and Dr Frankenstein (Colin Clive resurrecting his role) being rescued from the rubble.
When lo and behold the monster resurfaces and swiftly dispatches a local and his wife along the way.
Our maniacal Doctor Frankenstein has softened, seeing the error of his ways and is hell bent to put an end to his studies, but is lured back into the laboratory by a fellow scientist, the afore-mentioned Pretorius.
Pretorius seeps into a place of darkness, as he journeys into a mad new “world of Gods and Monsters” in order to see through his experiments.
The strength of the movie though doesn’t come from our protagonists but instead by our antagonist, The Monster, who is once more played by Boris Karloff.
This is his movie and his chance to shine, and shine he does as the script allows him to show more of the human, loving, and misrepresented character.
One of the most powerful scenes comes about when The Monster is stumbling around in the woods and happens to come across a blind man.
This man befriends The Monster and is not swayed by judging him by his appearance.
The friendship is a strong one, as they share in the delights of music and smoking, but this world of companionship would soon come crashing down as some passing hunters discover The Monster and he is forced to flee once more.
The subject of companionship is a strong one in this movie, and drives the plot line forward.
Pretorious seeks the companionship of a fellow scientist as he seeks to carry out his experiments; Frankenstein ultimately is willing to end this in favour of the love he has for his wife; and of course The Monster seeks friendship and when he stumbles upon Pretorius, his offer is all too great and he is willing to follow the mad man.
The cruelty would come at full force though, when The Bride (played by Elsa Lanchester, who also doubled up as Mary Shelley in the film’s prologue scene) is ‘awakened’ but finds the sight of The Monster too horrible to comprehend.
All hell breaks loose and the walls come tumbling down, crushing all but Frankenstein and his wife, who manage to escape just in time.
The film is beautifully shot with some of the framework simply stunning, and along the way has heralded some of the most iconic images to fall in the Universal Monsters universe.
Karloff hits the heart with perfect pain and angst, and his harrowing demise (albeit a rushed conclusion) is the only fitting way for his life to find closure…
Forced into a world that wouldn’t accept him and then just as swiftly dispatched from it, with a cold and abrupt end.
It is worthy successor to the original movie and probably one of the finer sequels to ever have been made.
The moment the character of Doctor Waldman delivers the opening monologue as a word of warning about what the audience is about to see, a classic novel becomes an iconic film.
Said character is played by Edward Von Sloan who returns after his performance of Van Helsing in Dracula.
Also returning to the Gothic Horror scene for Universal, who played the maniacal Renfield.
He he turns a trick as the hunchback (and aide to Dr Frankenstein) Fritz.
But the film owes testament to Colin Clive’s performance of Frankenstein, Boris Karloff’s awesome transformation as the Monster, a performance that required hours in the make up chair to deliver the signature look for the creature.
Karloff’s name would be forever cemented in film history despite only being credited as “?” in the titles.
And let’s not forget the directorial duties of James Whale, who’s vision in this movie not only established his rightful place as a master of his craft, but would forever identify him with this time and place in film history.
The story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has become so identified with Gothic Literature that it arguably holds the title of being the finest example of that genre.
It was one of the earliest stories used for film back in 1910 with the Edison Manufacturing Company’s short feature and has seen numerous adaptations ever since.
By 1931, Universal Studios had found a successful run in the Gothic genre, particularly after Dracula and were looking to repeat that winning formula.
With the release of Frankenstein, they found that success and a golden era in horror was born.
I hold my hand up and have to declare that I do have a soft spot for these movies that I do identified with the time, but for me they feel ageless as I am easily transported into the setting and delve into the world that has been created, which is a testament to the storytellers and the performances of the cast.
Colin Clive deliberately hams up the role of Dr. Frankenstein, which hangs marginally on the right side of believable as a man driven to the brink of insanity.
Even to this day the scene in which he brings the Monster to life and cries, “It’s alive, It’s alive! Now I know what it’s like to be God!”, has been used or replicated time and time again, most notably in 1985’s Weird Science.
Most of the tragedy in this tale comes from the Monster, who is forced to live in the darkness, fearful of light and fire, and strives to find his place in the world.
With that in mind, praise can not be held highly enough for Karloff, who is still able to deliver heartfelt tenderness under the layers of make up and between the grunts and gruffs.
None more so in the harrowing scene (that has played a significant part in many a thesis written around the movie) when the monster encounters the village girl and is led to believe that all beautiful things should float.
Even to its epic conclusion, when Frankenstein is forced to confront his creation in the now iconic windmill setting as it’s engulfed in flames, taking the Monster with it.
It’s a must watch for true lovers of the the Horror genre as it not only bore witness to one of cinemas greatest horror creations but also gave birth to the Horror film genre as we know it today.
Yes there were horror films before this movie, but In Frankenstein, Universal had created a legend that impacted audiences to a greater level and would pave the way for more stories of blood and gore that would delight the senses and chill the bone.
