Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

I remember seeing this when it was first broadcast on TNT in 1993. I recently rented it and remembered how good it was all over again. My favorite film version of Frankenstein is the 1931 version with Boris Karloff. Of the modern versions, I like the Kenneth Branaugh (1994) version and this one. This version is more faithful to the Mary Shelley novel than most other versions. Randy Quaid was magnificent as the monster, and in my opinion did a better job than Robert De Niro in the 1994 version. This film shows what a serious and gifted actor Quaid can be. The major difference from the novel is the creation of the creature. Mary Shelley never actually said that electricity brought the creature to life but she did say that the creature was stitched together from corpses. In this film, Frankenstein constructs a tank filled with a liquid that is made up of the elements of life. He uses this as a sort of cloning machine to make a stronger, wiser, and better version of himself. Electricity makes it work. Something goes wrong during the creation. The creature is strong, but he wasn't exactly formed all the way, thus giving him a hideous appearance. The creators of this film touch upon a concept that was fashionable to put into Frankenstein stage plays in the late 1800s / early 1900s. Frankenstein and the monster are versions of the same character, like Jekyll & Hyde. Since the monster is a clone of Frankenstein, they feel each others feelings and pains. They are the yin and yang of each other. When the monster is shot with a gun, Frankenstein feels the pain of the shot and a strange bruise appears on his chest. I liked how they touched on this concept. There are a few other differences from the novel as well, but no more than there are in the Branaugh version. One of the major differneces in that version is that Frankenstein actually does make a bride for the creature (an event that doesn't happen in the novel.) I think that if the creators of both films collaborated together, then they could have made one hell of a Frankenstein film. This is a must-own for any fan of "Frankenstein."

This movie does a pretty good job at following the themes and ideas of the novel, but it seriously strays from the novel. As a teacher, I am constantly looking for video forms of the novels we read in my classes. I read a review that said that this version followed the novel very well. I was disapointed when I saw how much this movie actually strayed from the plot of the novel. The relationship between the creation and Frankenstein is incorrect, major events are wrong, sometimes the order of events is wrong. This movie can be used for educational purposes, but it comes nowhere near replacing the novel.

However, if you are looking for a fun and new twist to the story, this is the movie for you. It was very entertaining, and I enjoyed watching it.