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(1935)

Boris Karloff, Ernest Thesigner, Colin Clive, Elsa Lanchester; Dir. James Whale

This is one of the great horror movies and the rare case of a sequel that is better than the original. Mary Shelly (Lanchester) continues the story of Baron Frankenstein (Clive) who is forced by Dr Praetorious (Thesigner) into building a mate for his monster (Karlof) but when the woman is built (Lanchester again) things don’t go as planned.

The role of Frankenstein’s monster had made Karloff one of Universal’s biggest stars. It’s his performance that makes the film great as he humanises the monster, showing subtlety of emotion and a confused and angry humanity from underneath makeup, greasepaint and a 48-pound costume.

Backing up Karloff's performance is the direction of James Whale. Whale based the film’s look on German Expressionism. Using the shadows and tilted shots that would later be used in the film noir of the 40s. The film mixes dark humour and satire with Expressionistic graveyards and mobs of peasants with torches. James Whale directed 21 films including The Invisible Man (1933) and The Old Dark House (1932) but this is the film he is remembered for.

- James Sandry