FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
directed by James Whale
screenplay by Garrett Fort
and Francis Edward Faragoh
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"It's alive! It's alive, IT'S ALIVE!"
Oh those two words, forever cemented in [horror] movie history. Often replicated, imitated and reinterpreted, but never matched. Next to the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Wolfman, Frankenstein is right up there on my list of favorite movie monsters ever. All the others that came after, in various permutations and motives---the Freddys, the Jasons, the Michael Myers, the Edward Scissorhands and countless other zombie flicks throughout the decades since, owe a tremendous gratitude and honor to this monster. And even more so this particular movie, the one that started it all.
In 1931, sound in movies--then known as "talkies"--were still a relatively new concept. How FRANKENSTEIN succeeded in these early years of this new technology is how well it integrated the simple sound design with the stunning expressionist visuals and characterizations of this film. The monster being mostly mute, has to emote and show feeling and emotion with no dialogue. And all this under layers of pancake makeup and heavy prosthetics. Together with a fantastic score and moody atmospherics, this movie is nothing short of a creative miracle in achieving what it was set up to do: to scare the bejesus out of movie audiences AND feel remorse and empathy for this great monster creation.
Only in the movies.