This 1994 Kenneth Branagh twist on Mary Shelley's classic Gothic horror novel finds itself coming into existence in the middle of a decade of constant remakes and endless melodramatic horror films. The basic story is ingrained into America's pop culture: a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, whose obsession with death leads to his obsession with creating life, with playing God. The creation of his monster, a combination of the bodies of executed criminals, (by the way, an entire scene of this movie is devoted to the collection, mutilation, and sewing together of said bodies) goes awry, the creature escapes and, once educated, swears revenge on Victor and his family. Victor marries his adopted sister, Elizabeth, and is driven to madness and subsequent death at his creation's hands. Sadly, it is here that the major similarities between the original novel and Kenneth Branagh's creation end.
Mary Shelley's classic Gothic horror novel has been endlessly analyzed and debated over, true to the wish of the late Mary Shelley, who wanted to write a subtle book that made you think, even long after you've finished reading it. Unfortunately, and for obvious reasons, much of the intended subtlety of Mary Shelley's (as well as that of all authors') work was lost in the transition to the stage and the silver screen. The worst of this, thought, is that many of these movies, perhaps for the sake of audiences not familiar with the original text and who did not (do not) like complicated protagonists, try very hard to get the audience on Victor's side. They try to prove that he is, in his heart of hearts, an honorable man who made a mistake, and is now constantly paying for it at the merciless hands of his creation; failing, in the process, to remind the audience that, whatever "The Monster" is, Victor made him. As the creature of this adaptation says to Victor on "the sea of ice" in the mountains of Geneva, "You gave me these movements, but you did not tell me how to use them. Now, two people are dead, because of us." The overall effect of the movie was, thinking back on it, very bloody. The death of Victor's wife on her wedding night was gruesomely changed to suit the tone of the rest of the movie.
The blood in the remainder of the movie deviates unnecessarily from the book, (the creature rips out Elizabeth's heart on her wedding night with Victor, and when Victor tries to reanimate her with Justine's body, the creature appears. They battle for her, and she takes her own life, burning the house to the ground) and it looks very, very fake. The visuals, in this way, are reminiscent of Bram Stoker's Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, producer of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Dracula, which came out in 1992, also involved large and unnecessary explosions of blood. Kenneth Branagh, along with his co-stars, deserves credit for his efforts, but this adaptation of Frankenstein ultimately leaves a bad taste in the mouth that is not the terror provided by a good thriller, but the disgust provided by a bad one. A disgust that is heightened by the fact that the title bears its author's name.
Mary Shelley's classic Gothic horror novel has been endlessly analyzed and debated over, true to the wish of the late Mary Shelley, who wanted to write a subtle book that made you think, even long after you've finished reading it. Unfortunately, and for obvious reasons, much of the intended subtlety of Mary Shelley's (as well as that of all authors') work was lost in the transition to the stage and the silver screen. The worst of this, thought, is that many of these movies, perhaps for the sake of audiences not familiar with the original text and who did not (do not) like complicated protagonists, try very hard to get the audience on Victor's side. They try to prove that he is, in his heart of hearts, an honorable man who made a mistake, and is now constantly paying for it at the merciless hands of his creation; failing, in the process, to remind the audience that, whatever "The Monster" is, Victor made him. As the creature of this adaptation says to Victor on "the sea of ice" in the mountains of Geneva, "You gave me these movements, but you did not tell me how to use them. Now, two people are dead, because of us." The overall effect of the movie was, thinking back on it, very bloody. The death of Victor's wife on her wedding night was gruesomely changed to suit the tone of the rest of the movie.
The blood in the remainder of the movie deviates unnecessarily from the book, (the creature rips out Elizabeth's heart on her wedding night with Victor, and when Victor tries to reanimate her with Justine's body, the creature appears. They battle for her, and she takes her own life, burning the house to the ground) and it looks very, very fake. The visuals, in this way, are reminiscent of Bram Stoker's Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, producer of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Dracula, which came out in 1992, also involved large and unnecessary explosions of blood. Kenneth Branagh, along with his co-stars, deserves credit for his efforts, but this adaptation of Frankenstein ultimately leaves a bad taste in the mouth that is not the terror provided by a good thriller, but the disgust provided by a bad one. A disgust that is heightened by the fact that the title bears its author's name.