directed by: James Whale
written by: Garrett Fort, Francis Edward Faragoh + Mary Shelley (book)
starring: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke
seen on 21st May, 2021
The thing is, to Boris I would not hesitate giving all the praise there is, but I do have a bunch of not-so-nice notes towards the rest of the film, making the review "average" even though the film is obviously not average at all.
At the centre of my displeasure is how the film-makers either don't understand the character of Victor Frankenstein (in the film renamed Henry) or intentionally manipulate emotions to make him seem like a "nice guy". I've hated the character with a passion ever since I read the book many years ago and he definitely has a spot in my personal "top 10 most hated fictional characters of all time". So any attempt at making him into a sympathetic protagonist makes me angry beyond measure.
Instead of this true, deep evil (that the book really is about, to me) the film-makers dwell on the "pretty" stuff, like pseudogothic set pieces, mob mentality and sensitive monster exploitation. It is a genre building piece of cinema, but it also foreshadows how many horror movies remove the intriguing layers from their backgrounds. It attacks the lowest urges instead of asking questions.
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