Frankenstein

*“You have created a monster and it will destroy you!” * After adoring and analyzing Mary Shelley’s novel for years — including writing a 50 page undergraduate thesis with her story as the focal point — it was past time to watch the Universal monster film. I’ve prided myself over the years on being a Frankenstein (the book, that is) superfan. I’ve been keenly aware of pop culture adaptations, and I love films such as Young Frankenstein (1974) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), campy renditions with Frankenstein as their source material. Despite this, however, it took me ages to get around to watching the original Frankenstein film… and now I can check that off my bucket list! What can I even say to express my thoughts after viewing? This movie blew me away. It actually enthralled me so much that I began writing this review while only half way through the screening. It was difficult for me initially to distance Frankenstein (1931) from Mary Shelley’s novel. Character motivations, traits, and even names completely thrown out and new ones are employed. For instance, Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist of Shelley’s novel, is rebranded as Henry Frankenstein, and his friend from the novel, Henry Clerval, is named Victor Moritz in the film (that name swap, in particular, really confused me for a while, especially when I was trying to compare and contrast the events of the movie and book). The plot, while extremely different (and honestly incomparable) to the novel, is incredible. I can now proudly say that I fucking love Frankenstein, in every adaptation and all forms of media! [Pending full review]