According to many critics, the 1818 publication of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s novelFrankensteincreated the genre of science fiction, with a tale of a doctor obsessed with conquering death through science. Over 100 years later, the book would spawn a film franchise that accrued dozens of entries since. The cautionary tale of Dr. Frankenstein and his doomed creation still fascinates on screen, even as more than a century has passed since the first film adaptation.
AlthoughFrankensteinhas been adapted to film from a number of studios and independent filmmakers, its cinematic legacy has been defined by themonster films from Universal Studiosand Hammer Film Productions. The first film version of the story came in 1910, with a short by Thomas Edison Studios, but Universal’s 1931 film has become the definitive version of the story,surpassing even Shelley’s book. Our vision of the monster, and even the method of his creation, is defined by James Whale’sFrankensteinfilms.
In 1957, after years of being relegated to Universal B-movies, Frankenstein found a new interpretation through Britain’sHammer Film Productions, and the release ofThe Curse of Frankenstein, with Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein and Christopher Lee as the monster. Hammer would make sevenFrankensteinfilms in all, earning fans with its dark, gothic themes and graphic, bloodier content and influencing many modern film interpretations.
Meanwhile, different auteurs would be inspired by theFrankensteinstory and use it for their own very different films, from Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey’sFlesh for Frankensteinto Larry Fessenden’sDepraved, and evenBomani J. Story’s South by Southwest filmfrom this year,The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster. After more than a century’s worth ofFrankensteinmovies, a handful stand apart as great cinema, with timeless appeal. Here are the bestFrankensteinmovies ever released.
10Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)
The fifth film in the Hammer series finds Peter Cushing’s version of the doctor putting the brain of a brilliant yet very dead scientist (George Pravda) into a new body, to extract his secrets to creating life. InFrankenstein Must Be Destroyed,Cushing’s great performanceresults in Dr. Frankenstein at his most depraved, and Freddie Jones is a sorrowful, vengeful monster.
Related:Best Hammer Horror Movies, Ranked
Proper British sensibilities often intersect with dark humor and brutal violence in the film, which delves deeply into the moral and intellectual implications of tinkering with death. The pacing is rather slow, however: it takes nearly an hour for the “experiment” to even get going.
9The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
Universal tried to stretch the franchise out a bit too long withThe Ghost of Frankenstein, the fourth entry in the original series. Lon Chaney Jr. steps into the monster’s boots for the first time, and he does a serviceable job. We learn the monster has once again escaped death from the end of the last film, and Ygor (in a great performance from Bela Lugosi) takes the monster to one of Dr. Frankenstein’s sons, with plans to use him for his own vengeful purposes.
8Frankenweenie (2012)
Frankenweenie, Tim Burton’s wonderful spin on the Frankenstein tale, is not only true to the spirit of the original film, it expands on the themes of consequences and companionship in hilarious and touching ways. The stop-motion film is actually a remake of his 1984 live-action short film of the same title, made while a young Burton was working at Disney, who subsequently fired him because his work was deemed too scary to screen to young children.Frankenweenieis no less gothic, but there is genuine heart in the story of a young boywho resurrects his dead dog, Sparky.
7The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
British studio Hammer Films launched its ownFrankensteinfranchise withThe Curse of Frankenstein, a darker, morally complex take on the story compared to Universal’s films. Hammer horror films have because a subgenre of their own, with a dedicated fan base.
Peter Cushing may be best known for his role of Grand Moff Tarkin inStar Wars, but he has legions of horror fans from his memorable role as Victor Frankenstein in six HammerFrankensteinfilms. This film featured Cushing’s close friend,Christopher Lee, in one of his best performancesand his only appearance as the monster in the series.
6Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Universal had long moved past monster movies by the late 1940s, but in an effort to capitalize on the popularity of their comedy duo Abbott and Costello, the studio conceived a crossover that ended up being much better than it should have.Abbott and Costello Meet Frankensteinfinds the duo playing freight company workers making a delivery to a house of horrors, only to discover the real Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster are inside the crates they deliver. They find an unlikely ally in Larry Talbot, aka The Wolf Man, played by Lon Chaney Jr.
Related:How Abbott and Costello Helped Create the Horror Comedy
Although Universal meant it to be afamily-friendly horror comedy, the film is held in high regard by horror fans for several reasons. Glenn Strange, who played Frankenstein’s monster in several previous Universal monster films, reprises the role here. The film is notable for the appearance of Bela Lugosi, who is reprising the role of Dracula for the first time since the original 1931 film, and it is the last time he would play the character. The film is so much fun, we won’t even gripe about Universal making the mistake of calling the monster Frankenstein in the film’s title.
5The Revenge of Frankenstein (1957)
Many Hammer Horror fans considerThe Revenge of Frankenstein, the second in the series, the best of the HammerFrankensteinfilms. After escaping the gallows at the beginning of the film, Dr. Frankenstein begins practicing again under an assumed name, continuing his experiments with a new monster. He transplants the brain of his deformed assistant Karl (Oscar Quitak) into a new, healthy body (Michael Gwynn) assembled from various parts. Although initially successful, Karl’s new body begins to go insane, embarking on a murderous spree.
4Son of Frankenstein (1939)
Son of Frankenstein, the third film in the Universal series, is also the last time Boris Karloff would play the monster in a feature film, and he goes out with a bang in a film that many say is equal in stature to the first two. The film replaces Victor Frankenstein (now dead) with his son, Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (played by Sherlock Holmes actor Basil Rathbone).
Baron Wolf continues his father’s work by reanimating the monster, with the help of Ygor (Bela Lugosi), who found the monster’s body and saved it fo reanimation. Bela Lugosi gives one of the best performances of his career, and the atmospheric film is one ofthe better Universal Monster movies, although the plot is a bit too conveniently contrived.
3Young Frankenstein (1974)
Who would have thought that a spoof ofFrankensteinmovies would turn out to be a love letter to Universal horror? Mel Brooks’Young Frankensteincaptures the look, feel, and melodrama of James Whale’sFrankensteinfilms, recreating key scenes with hilarious absurdity. A familiarity with the two Whale films will make the film even more enjoyable, as you realize just how well Mel Brooks lampooned them. There are inside jokes aplenty, and Gene Wilder was arguably never funnier than he was as “Fronken-steen.”
Marty Feldman is perfection as Igor, andPeter Boyle’s Monster is comic genius, particularly in the “Puttin' on the Ritz” scene. Boyle’s scene, with Gene Hackman (in a cameo as The Blind Man) forever ruined the original scene inThe Bride of Frankenstein. While there are jokes aplenty, horror fans will appreciate the film’s striking attention to detail, to replicate the tone of the Whale films.
2Frankenstein (1931)
James Whale’s landmark film was one of the best movies of 1931, even if Hollywood wasn’t ready to accept it yet.Frankensteinwas a horror film with an emotional center, thanks to a superb performance from Boris Karloff that made Frankenstein the king of the Universal monsters.
The makeup was grotesque but not repulsive, and allowed Karloff to give a moving performance as a sad, lonely creature struggling with his basest emotions. The film did update some details from the book, most notably using electricity to revive the creature (rather than chemicals) a point that has become an accepted point in the story’s mythology.
1The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
James Whale waited four years to do a sequel toFrankenstein, unwilling to even revisit the character until he had a story worth putting to film. The result isThe Bride of Frankenstein, which not only surpassed the original, it ranks as the best Universal Monster film ever. With Frankenstein and his monster shown to have survived the events of the first film, we get a fantastic, emotional performance from Boris Karloff (billed only as “Karloff” in the credits and posters), whose monster seeks to end his loneliness with Frankenstein creating a mate for him.
Elsa Lanchester is on-screen for less than five minutes as The Bride, and yet remains an indelible character in Hollywood history. The tragic ending only reinforced the film’s standing, and it remains the best of the Bride movies, despite attempts to best it (including a failed attempt to make aBrideremakeas part of Universal’s Dark Universe). It earned a single Academy Award nomination, for Best Sound.
