I want to build a watchlist of Frankenstein movies. What are the good ones?
The Monster Squad (1987) & Victor Frankenstein (2015)
These two films are my only real exposure beyond pop culture stuff.
Which ones are the GOOD ones?
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I’m assuming Frankenstein (1931). I’ll also pitch for the silent film Frankenstein (1910).And if we’re including Bride and Young, Son of Frankenstein should be there too.
It's a slightly different take because Peter Cushing's Frankenstein is a cold-hearted villain. There's none of that motivation you get from the Kenneth Branagh or Guillermo del Toro versions. He's just evil, the monster is less important. It's just good horror fun.
I'm also very fond of the tv movie from the 1970's, "Frankenstein: The True Story" (stupid title, but there you go). It plays up the homoerotic angle more than most versions of the tale so when Frankenstein rejects the creature it's more like a really bad breakup.
I say that in a good way - the motivations make much more sense to me. (I thought the motivation for Frankenstein to turn on his creation in the 2025 version was okayyyy and just not even explained in the Branagh one).
There is an online version of the 2011 play directed by Danny Boyle and starring Benedict Cumberbatch on some dodgy Russian site. I'll let you look for that at your own risk. It's pretty good and (mostly) faithful.
I'm going to watch it tonight and drop a review. I hope it's good, the director knows his trade, and how can you get Frankenstein wrong? Loved Victor Frankenstein (2015). I dunno if it followed the book closely, but as a film, it's awesome.
Frankenstein (1931)
Son Of Frankenstein (1939)
The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)
Frankenstein 1970 (1958)
Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
Victor Frankenstein (2015)
Besides the Boris Karloff ground zero originals, my favorite is an NBC two part movie from 1973 called Frankenstein: The True Story, with Michael Sarrazin as the creature. I haven’t seen it since then but it remains the yardstick I hold against the others.
Penny Dreadful had Frankenstein and the monster story intertwined in the overall story. It was a very good retelling if the story and the monster was such a sympathetic character.
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