Frankenstein, a movie primarily about how Doctor Henry Frankenstein deals with the fallout of his monster actually coming to life, holds up very well almost ninety years from its release. Starting with the monster itself, we find a fantastic character. Without any lines of dialogue, the filmmakers and Boris Karloff had to use actions and emotions to display the motivations of the monster, and they did a fantastic job of it. The fear, confusion, and longing that the novel describes are evident in the monster's actions, to the point of pushing the audience to root for him. The rest of the characters are also a bit of fun. Baron Frankenstein, played by Fred Kerr, was also a hoot. He played a no-nonsense character that functioned well in the comic-relief role needed with Edward Van Sloan's Dr. Wladman and Mae Clarke's Elizabeth being quite serious, even dramatic. Colin Clive, the man who played Doctor Henry, did a decent job in his role as well, pulling off the role of being consumed by his work, even when he desired to be free from it. The acting, overall, was a touch more theatrical than I would prefer in a horror movie, but it wasn't so distracting that it pulled me out of the film. The film is a ton of fun to watch, but I do have to say it isn't exactly terrifying. The atmospheric creepiness is somewhat lacking compared to modern-era horror, even going back fifty years. That being said, the movie, if thought about and rewatched, does a good job of displaying how the fear of the unknown, and letting that fear take over, can be the real monster.

I don't get everyone saying this movie has "aged well" cuz it sure as shit hasn't aged that well for me. So the whole movie felt like a PowerPoint presentation with them hopping from scene to scene with a cheap fade transition in the middle. It's like the movie has one scene...and then a transition followed by another scene with no flow. THe runtime is 70 minutes and it still took me 2 sittings to watch. Well the modern era of having a shot attention span ain't helping my case much but I don't use TikTok or Instagram so don't come at me. Despite being technically terrible the movie doesn't capitalize in the acting department either, maybe it's the way the movie is shot or structured, there is literally no "life" in any of the characters (no pun intended). Actors try to breath in some life but the dialogue holds them back even further, it feels like they are reciting quotes from a quote book. Also I don't get why almost all classic movies I've watched up to now has a dramatic romantic situation in the third act. Maybe it's just me who feels that way?

How can I pick apart something that has become so much a part of our culture? Karloff's portrayal of the Monster is timeless and Colin Clive is bug-nuts as the Doctor. He's quite insane and I still have not been able to buy the fact that he could have or would have wanted a bride for his own. He supposedly snaps out of the work funk he was in when he created the Monster but his character is too crazy for me to believe he could have or would even want a normal marriage. The guy is a grave-robbing, mad scientist! Back to Karloff, there's nothing really frightening about the Monster. I was much more sympathetic to it than I was toward any of the characters of the film. I don't think that was the original intent of the director, though. When this film was released, audiences were probably appalled by it. Maybe it's the Herman Munster effect that endears Karloff's Monster to us. One thing that made me laugh was when Dr. Frankenstein gets thrown off the top of the windmill, lands on one of the vanes and then drops to the ground. The Doctor is injured but he survives. Tough guy to survive that fall. The fact that this was scary to audiences of the day is hard to believe because its really quite tame to view today. The original Dracula is the creepier of the two, but I do prefer the look of "Frankenstein" to that of "Dracula".

The significance of Frankenstein goes far beyond being an early horror movie. It helped define what horror cinema would look like for the next century. Boris Karloff’s performance is so iconic that it completely overshadows the film that created it, turning the monster into a cultural icon. And the visual style is stunning, drenched in German expressionist lighting, sharp shadows, and towering laboratory sets that feel like a model for Hollywood horror to this very day.