Just because a film is "the original" doesn't always mean that whatever follows automatically is going to be inferior. Regarding this one, I much prefer the 1994 "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," a very underrated adaptation.
Most of the times I do agree that the original is better than the re- make, but not aways, and particularly when it comes to horror or science-fiction films. A case in point in this classic, which I re-visited on VHS in the '90s after a long hiatus.
When I saw it again, I was surprised that very little of the film had the monster coming to life. Most of it centered around what happened before the culmination of Dr. Frankenstein's work. Afterward, we see the result and then the famous last scenes in which the townspeople went after the monster at night with torches.
Although slower than I remembered, I still found the first half of the movie interesting. However, I think the film lacked one essential ingredient for a good "horror movie" - atmosphere. I saw much more of that atmosphere in "The Bride Of Frankenstein," or the Dracula films - old and new, or the Val Lewton series from back in the 1940s.
I will forever remember hearing Colin Clive yelling, "It's alive!!!" but other than that, this did not turn out to be that memorable or exciting...at least not now, over 75 years later. A lot of those '30s horror classics look too dated and are too slow. The big exception, of course, is "King Kong," which has never been equaled.
Most of the times I do agree that the original is better than the re- make, but not aways, and particularly when it comes to horror or science-fiction films. A case in point in this classic, which I re-visited on VHS in the '90s after a long hiatus.
When I saw it again, I was surprised that very little of the film had the monster coming to life. Most of it centered around what happened before the culmination of Dr. Frankenstein's work. Afterward, we see the result and then the famous last scenes in which the townspeople went after the monster at night with torches.
Although slower than I remembered, I still found the first half of the movie interesting. However, I think the film lacked one essential ingredient for a good "horror movie" - atmosphere. I saw much more of that atmosphere in "The Bride Of Frankenstein," or the Dracula films - old and new, or the Val Lewton series from back in the 1940s.
I will forever remember hearing Colin Clive yelling, "It's alive!!!" but other than that, this did not turn out to be that memorable or exciting...at least not now, over 75 years later. A lot of those '30s horror classics look too dated and are too slow. The big exception, of course, is "King Kong," which has never been equaled.