316: Frankenstein (1931)

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I came in through the window last night.

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Greetings and salutations, and welcome to Hacker Slash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. It's alive. If this is your first time listening, welcome to the party. We are a horror movie review podcast dedicated to telling you whether a movie is a hack.

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A total joke. A waste of time.

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Or a slash.

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Totally killer. Pun intended.

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We believe horror is for everyone, and as such, we're rating these movies with a perspective we've gained from our varying walks of life and the flavors of fear we fancy most. My name is Chris, I'm your friendly neighborhood slasher enthusiast, and this week I'm joined by the Superfly Space Guy Mac.

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See how mine float?

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The classic horror connoisseur Sean.

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Something is coming between us.

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And the paranormal paramour, Vinks. Crazy, am I? We'll see if I'm crazy or not. Last year we looked back on Bella Legosi's iconic portrayal of Dracula. This week we're unpacking a 1931 film that continued to build upon Universal's financial success of Dracula and has proven to be as timeless as it is haunting. Now, much like that Dracula adaptation, this week's film serves as an adaptation of a stage play which itself was based on a Mary Shelley novel. The story at its foundation has been reshaped and retold, each version adding its own layers to the legend. It's a blend of gothic horror and science fiction and paints the picture of a world where the line between life and death blurs, where ambition challenges the natural order, and where science treads into the realms of the unknown. Our story unfolds around an obsessive scientist determined to create life from the lifeless, stitching together a being from exhumed remains. As he breathes life into the patchwork of death, though, he soon discovers that playing God comes with a price beyond his darkest imaginings. Settle in, dear listener, and prepare to unravel the mystery and mastery of a film that challenged our notions of life, creation, and humanity itself. This week, we're finally talking about Frankenstein. Who's seen this one before?

SPEAKER_02 2:03

Man, finally is the right word for sure. As you all know, this is my favorite horror film of all time. I'm just gonna throw it out there. Everyone should probably know by now. It's right there with the mummy and both with Boris Karloff, oddly enough, but for very different reasons aside from that. The mummy hits that nostalgic feeling that I have of a child being with my grandmother, but Frankenstein is a film that I relate to in a way that is unique from any other film. I absolutely adore this film. I own this along with probably every universal monster movie ever made, and it's one that I have probably watched what feels like a hundred fucking times.

SPEAKER_04 2:42

Yeah, I also own this movie, Sean, but I definitely have not watched it a hundred fucking times. I own it thanks to you, because you pointed out a stellar deal on a collection last year. And while I have seen this one before, it's not one I have seen in its entirety often. I've seen clips of it, and I've seen work that has been inspired by it more often than I've seen the actual film itself. So this is a really great time to settle it and really absorb it in its entirety.

SPEAKER_03 3:09

Yeah, I agree. I think that honestly, I remember watching this on like maybe PBS or something, and it was like one of those major basic cable channels when I was very little. I've definitely watched parts of it multiple times, and it's a very short film, so for you not to see it in its entirety more than once is pretty hard to do. But for me, it's been definitely several years since I've seen the whole thing. So I was excited. I actually also have never read the book. I was sharing that with Sean earlier. Never read the book, so I definitely want to make it a point to read the original book maybe sometime around Halloween, if not sooner.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

It's so good.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

I feel like the I mean I've actually never watched this movie, although I've seen certain clips of it so many times that when we're like watching the film and it's just a moment, I was like, wait, have I actually seen this? Because I know that moment, but no, I've just I've seen certain clips of them, some of them more well known than others, a bunch, and I've seen things inspired by this Frankenstein, but I've never actually seen the movie.

SPEAKER_04 4:09

Yeah, and I wonder if part of what you may have really thought about when you watched this, Mac, was Rob Zombies the Monsters. Because let me tell you, watching this again made me appreciate that even more in hindsight, and I really enjoyed that movie. This was the first time I think I've watched it since seeing the monsters. So that was a really interesting experience to look at not only that movie in particular, but so many other iterations of Frankenstein that we've seen since this film. And ooh, let me tell you, sucker for a moment where you can always count on a man's pride to be the critical point of his demise.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

I gotta say, Mac, you haven't seen this before, which is interesting because I gotta imagine there has to be a lot of expectations going into this movie if you haven't seen the film yet, because this is an iconic film, right? You've heard about this film, even if you haven't seen it. Everyone knows it, everyone knows the face of the monster. Tell me if I'm wrong, but just due to the fact that it's left this incredible mark in cinematic history, I don't know. You tell me.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

I think going into it, you just you assume this is going to be iconic. Everything about this is gonna be memorable, it's gonna be executed well because it has to be, because everyone knows it, and everyone knows this Frankenstein's monster. Literally, just like the prototype for what that character should look like afterwards, whether it's cartoons or or not. So I think when I was thinking about what to expect in other parts of the movie, I think a stage play on camera is effectively what I thought we were gonna get. So that means very dramatic acting, but that also means dialogue that I can hear and that I can understand, which is very welcomed. And of course, you know, the monster itself, you picture it a certain way. And even if you've never seen this movie, this movie is the reason why you picture it that way.

SPEAKER_02 5:53

Yeah. The stage play thing, I think, is pretty accurate, especially when we think of what Dracula did, because that was also adapted from like a play, right? So we know that we could maybe expect from this type of movie in this era that we're gonna get something along those lines. But I am always interested to see what people are expecting going into this film, not having seen it, because I truly feel like I watched this movie at an age where I can barely even remember that age. This is like a movie where it's a memory of watching it at such a young age, maybe six or seven, but it's one of those things where you remember watching it, you remember these small, tiny little moments or memories through life, but you don't remember much else but this tiny little blip in time. And so I don't even know at this point how many times I've seen it, what I would even think to expect, because I just feel like it's always been with me.

SPEAKER_03 6:51

Yeah, I can definitely relate to you on that front. When I was little, it would be on cable or my grandfather would have it on or something. I remember tiny moments that now re-watching it, it came to me, right? But what was I expecting? Not much because I feel like I know exactly what happens without having a vivid, distinct recognition of it. So that's such a great way to put that because I've I can relate that to so many other moments and memories when I was little with lots of pieces of media.

SPEAKER_04 7:22

It's so interesting to hear such a varied experience level with this movie. I mentioned that I hadn't seen it several times by any means, but this is one that when watching it again earlier today and even a couple days ago, it just felt like a warm hug in a sense of just nostalgia. This is an old classic film, but it hooks you in every step of the way.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

I mean, for an old classic film, I feel like it's 70 minutes and that's pretty normal. Actually, it might be even be longer than many of them, but for some reason the pacing is just really nice. I think we always expect classics to be really slow or to be really boring, but we've got this nice mix of action, intrigue, and plenty of room for breathing as well. And then, of course, we have that nice sharp ramp up at the very end, and it ends just on a nice fiery note. So I you get a lot going on here. Just thinking of it as another classic, I think does it a little bit of a disservice in many people's minds if they typically think classics are are not very varied in that they're consistently boring.

SPEAKER_03 8:21

Yeah, I agree. I think if you put this film in the same fishbowl of that stereotype where classics, no offense, Sean, but classics are just like boring black and white films. And we know that people are so stubborn about that stuff sometimes. A lot of people are. They don't want to see the classic stuff because they think that it's gonna be a waste of time, or even those that are silent films, right? To get them to watch Caligari would probably be pulling teeth, but it's a great film, right? I just hope that the big takeaway with this particular film is like it's not that, you know, like shaking somebody and being like, I promise it's not that. And the pacing is so great, everything about it. I remember feeling like I was watching something that was pretty fresh and recent when it obviously isn't. And I think a lot of that has to do with the tone that's set right at the beginning, right at that opening of the curtain, we're starting the movie. You have this moment where you set the tone, you feel like you're an audience member that's in the theater watching the movie. I feel like I'm getting a theater experience from my home watching this in 2024. I think that's really fun. So it's little moments like that that I'm glad that we can share with people listening that if you haven't seen this, don't knock it just because it's 1931, please.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

Yeah, that's fair. I think it feels fresh because some of the, I don't know, underlying themes for lack of a better terminology are still relevant in some ways today. And so it still holds up and feels fresh in many ways for people. And we can probably unpack that later on. But I think one of the strongest feelings that I get when I watch this film is this relatability to this character, to this monster, right? It's just this monster is vulnerable to the world. You're trying to make your way, but not being accepted by the societal norm because you're different and now becoming this sort of outcast in a way. And so I relate to that from my teenage years all the way to this fucking day because that feeling of being outside of the norm because you dress different, because you listen to heavy music, because you like Halloween when it's fucking the middle of fucking April. So you're told that you shouldn't get tattoos, whatever it is. And that's just me and my bullshit, and that doesn't even compare to those who are feeling you know, unaccepted or looked down upon because of their race or sex or your fucking sexual preference. So not having a chance just because you're different. So I don't know, relatability along with empathy, but that's the strongest feeling I pull from this film.

SPEAKER_04 10:54

You know what's interesting to me is the depth of what you pull from this movie, and then I think about that same thing applied to several other iterations of Frankenstein. And in my mind, I have always viewed Frankenstein's monster as a very sympathetic character, a very sympathetic monster, even more so than I've said even Jason Voorhees is a sympathetic killer, right? But one thing that surprised me watching this again, uh what feels like such a fresh experience here, it feels so different because there are some differences to Frankenstein himself, and I feel like everything that comes after this is a departure of who he is in this film, his motivations, but also the decisions he makes and the way that his character evolves over the course of the movie. That was something that stood out to me in a very positive way.

SPEAKER_00 11:48

I didn't know about all kind of the the the level of detail in which his character is different from other iterations. Aside from his name, that was definitely one of the most surprising things to happen. Especially since, okay, Frankenstein is now named Henry instead of Victor, but there's also still a Victor in the movie. Okay, like that's confusing. So that was weird. But I think there's more that's surprising. Frankenstein's monster has a sexy growl, right? Okay.

SPEAKER_04 12:13

That was Are we describing this as sexy growl?

SPEAKER_00 12:15

He literally gives like a raw when he's near one of the characters. So that's pretty wild. But I think one thing that really surprised me is there's a kill slash scene in this movie that is very well known. And it's something that I was very aware of. And seeing it happen in the context of the rest of the film, it's not the same as seeing it as part of like a cut-together list of good scenes from monster movies or something, right? Like when you see it as it happens in the historical context of the character and you see the full extended thing, the effect that it has on you, whether or not you have sympathy for Frankenstein's monster, uh, is very different in reality. And I think it was bold as well, really bold for a movie in 1931 to have this kind of kill.

SPEAKER_02 12:58

Definitely bold, definitely probably surprising. If it's not surprising to watch yourself as watching a 1930s flick, it's probably insanely surprising to watch as it released. And you know, as someone who loves, I think, horror literature as much as I love horror cinema, as someone who loves Mary Shelley's novel, I'm always surprised at how good this film came out, despite the many things that do separate it from the novel and these differences that we're bringing up, because while it is not accurate by any means, it is still an incredible story to unfold on film. And I don't know if you could qualify this as really a disappointment, but I did always want this film to just be a part one of two alongside the Bride of Frankenstein, because I think the progression makes sense, and I can dive more into that in the second half or with the spoiler zone. But I don't know if that's a disappointment or just a kind of a wish.

SPEAKER_03 13:53

So kind of wanting it to just smooth into the second part?

SPEAKER_02 13:57

One film, I maybe it would be like two, two and a half hours, but it would just be two different parts. I don't know how they would split it up. Maybe it just flows into one movie.

SPEAKER_03 14:06

I watched both of them back to back today, and it felt like it kind of already did that. Right, right. I can get behind that too, because if anything, my surprise was that it's 70 minutes. And granted, I know that a lot of these older films really are pretty short, and Mackie mentioned it earlier. Maybe this is even one of the longer ones of this era, right? But I was almost like, damn, this was like 70 minutes. I could have actually done with a little bit more. There's plenty of films that we watch nowadays that should have been 70 minutes, so I'm all for maybe a combo of both Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

If we did get more, I think what I would want is some more scenes showing the monster in a really scary way. And maybe this is just my modern eyes watching it. Maybe this was truly terrifying back in the day, but I didn't feel it at all while watching it. You know, I just I don't think it's very scary. I don't think the character itself is very scary. I think, like you said earlier, he's sympathetic, right? And so like you end up kind of feeling bad for him instead of fearing him, and that's fine. I just again it's not a super scary movie.

SPEAKER_04 15:11

That's because this movie it wasn't even originally intended to necessarily be a horror movie. Yeah, it has gothic horror, yeah, it has science fiction. But what makes this a horror movie is the time that it was made in and the pro-clutching of it all. It's the idea of exhuming remains and using that to create new life.

SPEAKER_05 15:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:31

It's the idea of someone in their hubris trying to play God. It's a horror movie for the time, it's not a horror movie for now, but even the way that it uses its theme to challenge modern thinking, I think it's still pretty substantial. So for sure, not a scary movie at all, but something that I did still find myself thoroughly entertained by. And I do think that the quality of the monster makeup, obviously it's not gonna frighten you, but it is gonna still give you that, okay, this is a horror movie.

SPEAKER_03 16:05

Yeah, you know, it still counts. I think we said something similar even when we did our mummy and Dracula episodes as well, because to us, of course, we didn't find it scary, but there are moments where I can see how in the 20s and the 30s, staring at this thing would put me off a little bit, the makeup design of that time for sure. So when it comes to Frankenstein specifically, I would imagine that it's not only that, those moments where you're just staring at Boris Karloff and you know, him in those eyes, but I think it's really what you said, Chris, that it's the exhuming the remains, like doing something that could almost borderline half people believe that can you actually do this? Is this procedure something that could actually work? You know, like that's the part that's almost scary.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

For sure. I think it's a it's it explores some pretty dark stuff. It's a dark film, a hundred percent. And I think also, correct me if I'm wrong, Chris, but it's also probably not a horror movie because they didn't even have a horror genre when it was made. So that it wasn't even really a thing. But I think that we can all look at this movie now and easily say that it's not frightening. Not that we find much of anything frightening these days, but I do find myself thinking about how terrifying it could have been or must have been for people watching it, maybe young kids, I don't know, but thinking about sitting in a theater or even just when it aired on TV on your couch or whatever, 70 years ago, 80, 90 years ago, whatever it is, it must have been a little bit terrifying when you get that reveal of the monster. I think the makeup you brought up, Chris, you have this relatability, but were people relating to the monster at that moment in time, or were they just taking it all in? And I think when you get that first glimpse of the monster, it can be pretty horrifying. You've got some intense makeup, probably something you haven't seen before. It's still relished as one of the best monster characters in horror. And so overall, it's not a frightening film, but it's a dark film. And overall, when you look at the film, the set design with that sharp contrast, the angles, the shadows, and the lighting, I think it has this frightful feeling to it, but it's not a scary movie.

SPEAKER_04 18:20

I think that's completely fair. How scary can this movie be when it's about so much more than scaring you? Right. This is a movie that really plays on the theme of sure we've discussed it, playing God and be being ostracized and outcast just by being brought into the world. But then it's also a movie that challenges your predisposition to danger or evil. But then it also examines your nature versus your nurture. So there's a lot in here that is very much just the human experience, and you can tell, especially with how universal the themes are, that obviously this is going to stand the test of time. I think it's interesting that there are so many changes from the novel. I haven't read the novel, so I'm excited to hear more for myself, but I know that there are a few key things that are different, but I also think that there's something to be said about how singular this movie is and how different it even is now from every adaptation that's come after it.

SPEAKER_02 19:16

Yeah, this film is technically an adaptation from a play, which was an adaptation of the novel, much like Dracula was, right? And so the thing is, when you take all of that away and really look at what was done here, it has to be original because they essentially took the core of Mary Shelley's novel and created this almost completely new story around it, from the way the monster looks to the very end of the story. And it was all different, but it was different without losing the integrity of that core, the heart of the story. And so for me, I feel like it is original because it took this idea and it made it its own film.

SPEAKER_00 19:57

Yeah, I can see that. I mean, I haven't seen the earlier version of Frankenstein on stage that this was adapted from, and I obviously have not read the book. I'm curious how much was borrowed and how much is new, because I know there's a good mix of both, but I feel like everything after this borrows a lot from this stylistically. And I think our very concept of what Frankenstein is probably because of this movie. So I think for originality points, sure, it's based off of some other stuff, and and I get that, but I think this is really what defines Frankenstein for probably most people in at least the US in modern times.

SPEAKER_03 20:30

And it's really about the impact, right? Because there are plenty of people that have never read the book and never watched the movie, right? Like Mac. So you could have never seen either of those pieces, and you still know what Frankenstein is. Maybe, I'll give it to you, maybe the one thing that you probably don't know is who really is Frankenstein. Is it the monster that you're thinking of, or is it the doctor? You know, that's typically the response I get when I bring up Frankenstein, you just don't actually know who's who, but whatever. Like you just know, you know what story I'm talking about. And I think that is incredible. That impact speaks for everything, right? And we're talking a lot about all of the films that have come after it, how it's so singular, but yet clearly has had its mark in every other adaptation and how it's changed. We could say the same for the mummy, or rather, we did say the same for the mummy. I think about one of my favorite movies from last year was Poor Things. And that's literally a female version of Frankenstein to some extent. And so when you were talking a lot about being in a space where you don't really belong, you were made this way, but you're trying to fit in, but you just don't somehow, and you are feeling like you have to fit these societal norms and you're not being accepted no matter what. I think poor things is a great example of that on the female perspective. So it's just great timing that we're reviewing this now with so much buzz around this particular movie, and it's like, there we go, that's Frankenstein right there. That's 1931 Frankenstein. I think it was just really great timing for myself in particular that love that film to be watching. This now, thinking of originality when I was writing my notes, how incredible it is that a lot of people have probably never seen this film because of their own biases towards classics, but they're watching poor things and they're probably gonna watch Lisa Frankenstein in a couple weeks, they're gonna be doing the things, and it's all because of this. And of course, Mary Shelley, naturally, right? But I think that's pretty incredible.

SPEAKER_04 22:23

Yeah. Also, let's just take a moment to acknowledge as this episode releases the anniversary of Boris Karloff's death.

SPEAKER_02 22:29

Oh, and there it is. This is true.

SPEAKER_04 22:31

Timing on timing on timing. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 22:34

Speaking of timing, though, when it comes to this ending, that's just my one gripe with all these classics. I gotta say, I feel like I'm going 70 miles per hour, and then all of a sudden I hit the red light, and I've just I had to break so hard, so fast, I was like, oh shit, my head's gonna hit the steering wheel. Maybe you should wear a seatbelt. Well, I'm wearing a seatbelt, and my head's still getting beat when I hit that red light. I don't know what it is.

SPEAKER_00 22:57

It caught me off guard because we have the climax, which is out there, right? It's wild, it's a lot going on, it's crazy, it's bright. And then the movie ends with comedy. Thank you. That was kind of out of nowhere. Explosive climax, right? That part was really good for the ending, but then the very end of the movie, we kind of needed to hear prom. It was so silly.

SPEAKER_04 23:17

I absolutely loved it though. I loved how sudden the ending was. I loved the absolutely chaotic wrap-up that we get for most things. There's a lot of influence here, and I can't wait till we actually get to the scoring because this draws a straight line to modern cinema, and I just fucking love it so much. Not only do you have this wild wrap-up of chaos, but then you have this little comedic note, and that's exactly what audiences needed in 1931. You needed a good little chuckle, you need a little something to be like, ha ha ha ha, I think it was perfectly placed.

SPEAKER_02 23:50

Yeah, especially after the events that unfolded, you need a little bit of comedy. It's interesting because I don't think that was the original ending that they were gonna go with, and so I think they wanted to plug in that last bit to almost lighten the mood a little bit. But I think even when you think of the novel and this film, both endings are great, I think, but they are on opposite ends of the spectrum in what we get. And I think the ending to this film, and Chris, you said it, this chaos, right? The intensity of the climax, the ending has your emotions high, you're nerve-wracked, it's chaotic, it's just intense, and then you get that sudden stop or that little comedic value that you get before the credits roll. But I feel like I enjoyed the ending. I feel like this one didn't land as abrupt as, say, Dracula. I feel like Dracula just like straight up said, It's over. Yeah, that's all you get. Curtains roll. This one at least flowed a little bit into the ending. It did end suddenly, but I think it felt that way maybe for you, Binx, because it was so much going on in such a short amount of time.

SPEAKER_04 24:58

Yeah, I remember distinctly Dracula giving me the feeling of, oh, blink and you miss it. It's suddenly done.

SPEAKER_05 25:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:06

Whereas this, yes, it's abrupt, but the chaos of it and dare I say the screams of agony you get, there is a great deal of suffering that feels like it's prolonged, even though it goes so quickly. You gotta admire it. But obviously, we have a lot to say about this movie. I can't wait till we get to the spoiler zone and we can break it down further. Let's go ahead and start making our way towards our ratings. Sean, how would you describe the gore score?

SPEAKER_02 25:34

While the gore in this movie may seem non-existent, the thought of the makeup and effects used to transform Boris Karloff into the monster was probably one of the goriest things you could see in 1931. But while it may be shocking for 1931, it's gonna earn itself a low to no gore score for 2024.

SPEAKER_03 25:56

And what about the animal report? We are actually all safe here.

SPEAKER_04 26:00

Frankenstein did not hurt any animals, just a person. Well, let's go ahead and get into our ratings then. Frankenstein from 1931. Was it a hack or a slash?

SPEAKER_02 26:09

I'm trying to really find the right way to articulate this, but this film is truly incredible. It is my favorite horror film of all time, and it's inspired by one of my favorite horror novels of all time. It's one of the most relatable horror films to this day, and it speaks to all of the outcasts out there. It also speaks to the consequences of unchecked science and this unrelenting quest to play God. And there are these underlying themes of humanity and morality and the consequences, I feel like, of the actions that take place in the film, it remains relevant, and I feel like it's thought-provoking. Even to right now, it's relevant. It's not just an iconic horror film, right? It's not just iconic in horror cinema or fucking cinematic history. It's a fucking cultural phenomenon. This film has influenced tons of adaptations and other horror movies that followed it. This film with Dracula helped spawn a whole new era of horror films with films like The Wolfman and The Mummy and The Invisible Man and all these universal monsters. None of those movies would exist without Dracula, without Frankenstein, and it's continued to captivate audiences for over 90 fucking years, and so it's proven to be a timeless classic and it's alive. It's a slash.

SPEAKER_03 27:37

Absolutely. I just feel like there's not a lot to dislike about this film, if anything, truthfully, especially with a film that is an hour and change long, but more importantly, a film that is the baseline for a lot of films that you see today, whether it be horror or not. I mentioned Poor Things earlier. There's so many films across many genres that use Frankenstein or the concept of Frankenstein as a baseline for its plot and its story and its messaging. And because of that, it's a story that you know very well. It's one that you don't have to read the book to see this movie to have even heard of Frankenstein. So I think that that speaks to its impact. I think that says that this film is a pillar of the genre and of many genres, actually, I would argue, for a reason. So you really gotta give this a shot. I think this movie is a slash, not for all of those other things. If we were to remove its impact, it's still a fun watch, it's entertaining, it's short, sweet, and to the point, with many undertones that can impact you. So 100% a slash for me.

SPEAKER_00 28:49

Alright, I'm gonna go a little nerdy for you, a little Star Trek nerdy here, but this is the kind of movie that Star Trek characters put on hundreds of years in the future, and I honestly I think that says something. So something like 130 years from our future on board the Enterprise NX01, which is from the TV show Enterprise, Commander Tucker, his character in there, massive Frankenstein fan.

SPEAKER_02 29:09

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 29:09

And so he and I think some of the other crewmates there end up convincing the first Vulcan in Starfleet. Her name is Tapol. They convince her to watch it. She has no interest. What's the point of watching such things, right? But she ends up relating to Frankenstein's monster because she's been an outsider in human society. At this point, the Vulcans are still relatively new. And then she wants to show it to her Vulcan superiors to teach them about the human psyche. So this is obviously a TV show, what's it been, 20, 30 years at this point, talking about aliens and whatnot in the future. But still, I think it makes a good point. I think this is the type of thing that you can watch for the first time and still get the idea, right? That this is more than just a monster movie, that this is about the human condition. And I think it's powerful in that way. But I think on its own, as a monster movie, it's also effective. The story is great. We've seen it a bazillion times with different characters applied here and there. It's like a mad lib almost, it just works every time because the basis here is really solid. So you can just watch it, you can just be entertained, but you can dig deeper and you can learn more about what it feels like to be the monster. And I think that's great. And so I think that makes this a slash.

SPEAKER_04 30:20

Listen, this movie is gorgeous. It's gorgeous and layered both in the aesthetic of its cinematography. So that A1 already, but then there's also the depth of its allegory. Those two things combined make this the absolute epitome of timeless. And Mac, you're on your Star Trek bullshit, and I love this for you. So let me go on my slasher enthusiast bullshit and just keep this train going. 90 years before Michael Myers haunted the town of Haddonfield for 40 years, Frankenstein's monster haunted this village for 40 minutes. This was giving the original Evil Dies tonight, and that's influence. That's power. The angry mob in Frankenstein marched so the mob of Haddonfield could fucking riot in 2021. And I think that is a great example of this movie's power. Obviously, this movie, for much more serious reasons than that, is an absolute slash. And with that, Frankenstein from 1931 is a universal slash. Now you can find this movie available for rent online. Check the link in our show notes to see where you can find it right now. Then join us in the second half so we can unpack more of Sean's love for this film. We'll see you in a bit.

SPEAKER_00 31:50

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SPEAKER_02 33:24

I think some of them do hit hard when you really think about it. There's just not a lot of them, so I'll let y'all bring up your favorites so we can talk about them. What were your favorite kills?

SPEAKER_03 33:35

So my favorite was a little bittersweet, and I'll explain. Because it's definitely that human moment that we get from the monster. And little Maria. It's so adorable. They're having a cute moment, he's having a laugh, he's having a real good time. And then all of a sudden he misunderstands the whole game. He picks her up and he throws her in that lake, and I was like, Oh no, buddy, you did the wrong thing. That was a little too much. So it goes from real sweet to real fucked up very quickly.

SPEAKER_04 34:04

Yeah, I have thoughts on this death. I agree with you. Probably the most impactful of the movie because of how sudden and innocent and unintended it was. But a couple moments here. One, it's so sad to realize that had he just taken two steps in, he would have been probably ankle high and could have just picked her up, you know, since he could have picked her up with such ease before. But my actually my main question about this kill, her father, how does he know that she's murdered? You know that she's drowned, but how do you know that she's specifically murdered?

SPEAKER_02 34:37

This is true. They don't really explain that at all. You can poke holes in that for sure, but I do think it's probably easily just skipped over because of how intense that scene was. Like I feel like it's one of those high contrast moments as he was carrying the lifeless body of his daughter through this party in the town. I thought it was just so impactful. I got lost in the thought at that moment of just looking at how intense and severe this moment was as he's carrying this girl through the village, and her limbs are flailing around dead in his arms. And as he's walking through the party, the party slowly starts to realize that this girl is dead, and then they're you know starting to follow him, and this is where the mobs start. So I get it. There's some holes to be poked here, but I think it got lost on my sheer just awe of that scene.

SPEAKER_04 35:35

Yeah, again, great emotional potential, but also you jumped really quick to murder.

SPEAKER_02 35:41

Yeah, this is true.

SPEAKER_00 35:43

I think Maria is probably one of the most obvious kills you can choose because of the impact. And it's just a big one. I had to go a little a little different way here. I went with Fritz because he's kind of a jackass. That doesn't mean he deserved to be hanged, but his death was probably the only one that just wasn't completely unfortunate. Don't go taunting a monster who has the strength of ten men. Yeah. Or do, I guess, you know, Fritz around and find out.

SPEAKER_02 36:07

Fritz around and find out. Nice. I like that. It's true. That guy was a dick, man. He was like really just fucking shit up.

SPEAKER_04 36:15

But this is again a bigger testament to just the power dynamics in this entire movie because Fritz plays a very submissive role and obviously resents that. But the second he has the opportunity to have an upper hand on someone, he chooses to then antagonize someone, granted, albeit a fiend, a monster, while he's chained up. From Fritz's perspective, there's some limitation there. Maybe he's not completely helpless, but there is a safety measure there. So he's able to exert a level of authority or power over him. And I think that's more telling, A, perhaps to who Fritz really is, but also B, more so how Fritz was actually conditioned again, right? It's the nature versus nurture of everything.

SPEAKER_02 37:01

It also should be said that the monster's death was also pretty intense. We all talked about the climax of the movie, we talked about the ending of the movie and how intense or chaotic that ending was. The town never even saw this monster. 99% of the population of this fucking town doesn't even know what they're looking for. They're mobbing after this monster. This poor thing is running away, confused, scared, trying to figure out what's happening, defending itself, really just trying to escape, and gets trapped in this fire. And so, man, what a fucking heavy way to go.

SPEAKER_03 37:44

Not unlike Halloween kills. That's that mob mentality, though, right there. It was getting Phantom of the Opera as well. I'm just saying.

SPEAKER_00 37:51

It's kind of wild if you think about it. He killed Fritz after being really just treated like shit by him. I mean, he was legit putting fire to his skin and in his face. Yep. And he just couldn't deal with it. Dr. Waldman was gonna kill him. And so in reality, that was just self-defense. He was about to put him to sleep. Yeah. Maria's kind of the only one that was not really warranted, but it was an accident. Yeah. Because he doesn't understand physics and biology and stuff. This is true.

SPEAKER_04 38:18

Yeah. It's also giving of mice and men. That's another one. That's a good point. Let me tell you though, the angry mob as a whole, the shots that we get of them carrying all their torches in the dark of night, absolutely stunning. The set work for this film, the cinematography in this film, the way that they use those torches to create such contrast, absolutely remarkable.

SPEAKER_00 38:42

Yeah, the set design. We have to talk about it because they went hard when it came to small details. You know, I was looking at Dr. Waldman's office in the very beginning of the movie, and he's got just all these skulls on a shelf in the background, center a frame when they're focusing on the conversation that they're having. But it goes further. They've got table settings, rugs, candles and lamps and whatever, right? Like it's a feast for the eyes. It's amazing like how much attention they put into tiny little things that would kind of just be in the background.

SPEAKER_02 39:14

Yeah. I think the set design and the shadows and the angles and stuff really showcase even influences from that German expressionism, right? That whole thing with the cabinet of Dr. Caligari. I feel like you see influence there in the set design of this film. And so you have to give it up for that. But I also have to give it up for the makeup artist, Jack Pierce, because he created one of the most iconic looks in horror cinema. His attention to detail and the use of prosthetics really brought this monster to life. And man, 1930 fucking one. I mean, he came up with the whole image, right? This flat head, these electrodes often mistaken for bolts coming out of the neck. It's the way he looked with the eyes and the clothes that he's wearing. Like all of what you see there has been copied for years and years and years. And so you gotta give it to Jack Pierce for making this come to life. Even though this is not how the monster is depicted in the novel, it has become the image we all go to when we think of Frankenstein's monster, very similar to Bell Lagosi and what he did with Dracula. So you gotta give credit where credit's due there for sure.

SPEAKER_04 40:30

It's also become your image. Oh, that's true.

SPEAKER_02 40:32

It has. It has become my image.

SPEAKER_03 40:35

Oh my god, you're right. That's literally your logo thing.

SPEAKER_02 40:37

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 40:38

I have to agree that it's incredible how these films are just everything that we identify with. I can't look at bolts at the neck, even though that's not what the what it was, right? But like bolts at the neck, Frankenstein.

SPEAKER_05 40:52

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 40:52

That flat top haircut or whatever, Frankenstein. Like the greenish skin, which I mean this is a black and white film, but like that greenish skin, also I think Frankenstein. It's crazy. And we can even think of literally the Dr. Frankenstein, that whole it's alive, like that kind of stuff. Oh it's incredible how these films and and just the smallest of details can literally withstand the test of time and have that solid mark, yeah, an impact.

SPEAKER_04 41:21

For sure. And I think that actually comes through really well in what I found to be my favorite scene, which is honestly the opening of the movie. We open up on a family attending a funeral, they're burying one of their own, and you have Frankenstein and Fritz just looking on from the distance, biding their time. So not only was that a great character moment, not only does it really brilliantly set the stage of what's happening here, what these people's agendas are, but it's then the quality of the set in that whole movement from the painted clouds in the background to the dirt piles, even to the construction quality of the coffin. That entire scene was just the perfect introduction to these people. And even though, yes, it was like a scavenger hunt for body parts, I could still get down with it.

SPEAKER_02 42:11

Dang, it is a great scene. I think I can't cherish any scene more than I cherish the introduction or the reveal of the monster. I remember being completely in awe as a kid when I first watched this film. I remember that like it was yesterday. You have those few memories when you're young that just stick with you for some reason, and I still get some of that same feeling to this day when I watch this reveal of the monster. We see this slow turnaround, and you get that close-up image of the monster's face, and you get those dead eyes. It's just iconic, and I'm just always slightly in awe of what they were able to showcase at that time in this film, and so I can't really give credit to any other scene as my favorite scene because that one has to be it.

SPEAKER_03 43:02

I for sure remember distinctly that table going up, yeah, and then it'll be electrocuted and then going back down. I remember being a little girl staring at that TV, being like, where is that table going? And then, like, wait a minute. That moment, that's the one that I will always, always remember, and who wouldn't, right? But my favorite scene actually happens just moments before all that unfolds. And it's really for a funny reason. I love Dwight Fry. That guy sold me with Renfield when we did Dracula. Absolutely, 10 out of 10. So now I see him as Fritz, right? And now with that context of knowing who he is, I'm like, oh, here we go. And he nails this trope so well, playing that deranged right hand man. It's the moment where Frankenstein tells Eliz Elizabeth to sit down calmly, and suddenly it's just Fritz. He's just right there, just staring at her. I was cracking up, like, sir, you're fucking weird. And then just in seconds or like a little moment later, it it's this quote actually that Frankenstein says, What a spectacle, I think, like one man crazy, three very sane spectators.

SPEAKER_05 44:10

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 44:10

And I promise you, I heard that quote and I said, This must be what it's like when I say something so fucking crazy, and the three of you just have to listen. Yep. I'm the crazy one, and the three of you are the sane spectators.

SPEAKER_04 44:25

Binks Kinks. Relatable. Well, I love that you found yourself in here, Binks. That's pretty remarkable.

SPEAKER_02 44:32

Call me crazy, but there's this scene where the monster is coming through the bedroom window, and for some reason, now every time I see it, I immediately think of that song by Lit, my own worst enemy.

SPEAKER_01 44:47

Oh. I came in through the window last night. Every time, every time.

SPEAKER_03 44:59

Could you imagine that's the music video?

SPEAKER_01 45:02

Let's do it. So good, it should happen.

SPEAKER_04 45:05

I honestly thought you were gonna talk about Cesar creeping through a window in the cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

SPEAKER_02 45:12

I mean, you're not wrong either, but that song, for some reason, I don't know why.

SPEAKER_00 45:17

I love that. We we've talked about it already, but my favorite scene was when the monster meets Maria up until she gets yeeted. Them playing the little game, the look in his eyes, one is he sees her and she is interacting with him so differently from everyone else thus far in this film. And the flowers, he just like he experiences joy. There's a little bit of equating going on in his mind between the flowers and Maria. And so it's natural for him that it's fun and joyful to throw the little flower into the water, and it would obviously be fun and joyful to throw her into the water. Yeah, it just makes sense in his brain because that's the level of logic that he has.

SPEAKER_04 45:58

It's the one plus one equals two. I ran out of flowers, so now you gotta go, kid.

SPEAKER_02 46:02

Yeah, it's the it's that vulnerability. He's just trying to figure out what's happening.

SPEAKER_04 46:07

But there's also the innocence of a child, right? This kid doesn't have any reason to fear him, like she's not conditioned for that, which makes it even more sad when she says, You're hurting me.

SPEAKER_05 46:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 46:17

It's just like this complete loss of innocence. I know I was talking a lot of trash about the logistics of Maria's death earlier. It is super sad. She did not deserve to go.

SPEAKER_02 46:26

That's true. But thinking of Boris Karloff as this monster, it's also fucking crazy that this could have been Bella Legosi. It was Bella's role before it was Boris's role, and Bella turned it down. He actually did an audition on the set of Dracula for this movie. The footage is presumably lost, I think. There is a poster out there featuring Bella Legosi as the monster. It's somewhere out there. I'm sure it's worth a pretty fucking penny. I don't even know if you can actually Google this poster, but it's supposedly out there. I just think that's crazy. I love Bella Legosi. I just don't know, and maybe it's just because we haven't seen him do it, but I don't know that he could have done the same thing that Boris was able to do for this character.

SPEAKER_03 47:06

And I think I was reading that Boris was offered the opportunity to audition because James Well like saw him and like basically left him to know, like, hey, you should you should audition. And he was like, damn, I'm that ugly. Damn. Me looking like a monster, but truthfully, Boris, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:25

Yeah, right?

SPEAKER_03 47:26

You know, but like a hottie. So don't be upset. Big kinks. Binks kinks. There it is. No, but I agree. Bella Lagos is too much of a pretty boy to be a whole ass Frankenstein.

SPEAKER_00 47:36

We've seen the result of having pretty Frankensteins, though, in more recent movies.

SPEAKER_03 47:40

We have. True. That's true.

SPEAKER_00 47:42

And it is not always a good thing. Who did we get my Frankenstein? Erin Eckhart. Right. I remember only parts of that movie. It was not memorable. Yeah. Unfortunately, for Aaron Eckhart. There's something to be said about having those strong features that aren't quite right. The makeup is what does it. You can't do it right without having the makeup because you need to be like slightly inhuman. Right. Because the monster is slightly inhuman. Frankenstein talks about producing this body like he made it himself, even though he just like spliced it all together and goes, okay, I made this now, right? But it's just human but slightly off. And the brain that they chose, it's interesting that they go so, you know, so deep into like talking about having frontal lobe development issues or whatever. It's funny because like what we get here is some violence, but it's not violence for the sake of violence, and it's not violence because he wants to take something from somebody that he believes is his. It's violence out of self-defense. In both cases, it was self-defense. And then Maria was literally just like, I don't understand how the world works yet because I've been alive for a day. Yeah. That's honestly not even his fault. He could be somebody had he learned to speak or would say really uncomfortable things because he didn't understand other people's emotional reaction to those things. This could have been someone who had a had a long, fruitful life had he not been brought to life by such a dickhole.

SPEAKER_04 48:59

Yeah, but I mean, look at what else that says. When you are viewed for your deeds and not your circumstances and how you're shaped and pushed towards those deeds, then you're written off as just having the brain of a criminal.

SPEAKER_01 49:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 49:13

Versus perhaps the brain of XYZ factor that then played a role in the decisions that you made in your life.

SPEAKER_02 49:22

It's the I created this thing and threw it out there, and I'm not going to take any responsibility for the some crazy shit that I created, and now we're going to hold accountability. It's just a it's a crazy concept, but it relates to society now. We create these things that we don't try to understand, and we just push them outside of the norm and say it's outside of the norm and just say, fuck you. Like we're not giving you a chance. We're not even going to try to understand where you're coming from or who you are. And that's just the way it's going to be. And that's a lot of what we've been fighting against for a lot of years now.

SPEAKER_04 50:00

For sure. I actually think one of the things that surprised me most about this movie, and I was talking about the differences or the surprises that I had about Dr. Frankenstein himself. I was surprised that in the end he wanted to hunt his own monster. And I've seen this movie before, so why the fuck am I surprised by that? But I think it's because in my mind, I'd have it as like Dr. Frankenstein, peak madman, wants to defend his creation at all costs and is not gonna relent. So for him to realize the error of his ways, and then what we end up seeing even carrying on into the next film, I think it was a really interesting moment for his character.

SPEAKER_02 50:38

I gotta watch the sequel. Thank you. You definitely do for sure.

SPEAKER_04 50:41

You absolutely do. I hadn't seen Brider Frankenstein, so this was a really fun time for me. But I actually want to take a step back. We've talked about a lot of relatability for the monster, but there was another character in here who I found completely relatable, and that was the Baron. If that man didn't have 90 fucking quotes that I felt like really applied to me personally, there's a moment where he goes to climb up the stairs cursing the existence of these stairs. He says, I don't like it, but here it goes. That's me on a regular basis, like anything that I do in my life. Oh no. Any decision that I'm faced with, when I am like fucking forced into a group outing that I'm not like necessarily down for, I'm like, I don't like it, but here it goes. This man gets me. Oh so when he had a little nice comedic moment at the end, I was fucking there for it.

SPEAKER_02 51:31

Listen, Baron Frankenstein is out here influencing movies for generations to come. This motherfucker toasted to the House of Frankenstein and to young Frankenstein, both of which became titles for future films. So look at this motherfucker right here.

SPEAKER_03 51:46

Iconic. Wow. So that man has power. That is hilarious. I don't know who I expected, but somehow Baron was not the one that I expected you to say.

SPEAKER_04 51:55

Wow. I'm spiritually a 90-year-old grandfather. You absolutely should have expected Baron from me.

SPEAKER_03 52:01

No, I know. I I I can I'm surprised. This is the surprise of myself.

SPEAKER_00 52:05

Did you see the faces as he's joking and getting the wine for himself? Yeah. And I guess that was the help who was surrounding him. They were delighted to be in his presence and to hear what he had to say. So he definitely seems like the most interesting man in whatever country he's supposed to be in.

SPEAKER_04 52:20

For sure. No, he pools, essentially. Yeah. I also love that he was just like, there's another woman and I'm gonna find her. It seemed like he wasn't down for Frankenstein to be a fuckboy. And I was like, yes, sir. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Put a stop to this fucking nonsense. Granted, the other woman is his work.

SPEAKER_00 52:38

The Baron is out here like work-life balance, dude. You need to be worried about women, not about science.

SPEAKER_03 52:43

Which something that you mentioned at the beginning of this episode was like that Frankenstein's name was changed from Victor to Henry because the name Victor is too severe and unfriendly to American audiences. So they change it to Henry. So no name is safe to the American audience.

SPEAKER_00 53:04

But also don't use that name on one of the softest characters in this movie, then.

SPEAKER_03 53:08

I agree. True. Let's dissect that a bit because somehow that friend, although soft, what were you trying to do, bud? You were his friend. He's trying to take his wife. He's trying to take his wife. Or future wife. And you're supposed to be his friend, but with your energy, you're gonna have to work a lot harder than that.

SPEAKER_04 53:26

Bro. Lurking in the friend zone, waiting in the wings. Mm-hmm. He he's the victor for sure.

SPEAKER_02 53:33

Yeah. Well, I guess in this sense, he does give Victor what they were trying to avoid because this guy was potentially a piece of crap. Like he's trying to swoop in and be like, You listen, we don't need to go see Henry. You and I, we can just be together on the side, you know.

SPEAKER_00 53:48

He was one season away from knocking on the door holding placards, professing his love. Yeah. That's where the things were headed.

SPEAKER_02 53:56

This is true.

SPEAKER_03 53:57

To me, you are perfect. And that's why I appreciate it. In my favorite scene, Frankenstein goes to him, like, sit your ass down, pretty much. But then to Elizabeth, sit down, dear. You know, like a little softer. But to Victor, fuck you. Sit down. I know what you're trying to do. I'm out here trying to reanimate dead people. I'm trying to do some crazy mad scientist shit, and you're trying to take my woman too. Unacceptable.

SPEAKER_02 54:18

You know, we talked about Fritz just a little bit earlier, but I think Fritz's character is pretty interesting because one, Fritz is not even in the novel. He is a character introduced from the play and brought into this film. But two, I think people often confuse Fritz for Igor. And to be fair, even the media and other films have probably blended the two characters together. But let me help separate the two for y'all because Fritz is a hunchbacked person, right? He walks with this cane, and Igor is not introduced in cinema until the son of Frankenstein in 1939. So we're talking about like eight years later, we don't even have an Igor. And Igor is played by our beloved Bel Legosi for the first time. Igor was not a hunchback, and he was not an assistant at in any means. He was a blacksmith and he had a broken neck and he had a twisted back as a result of a botched hanging. Like they tried to hang him and he didn't die. And that is Igor. So there you go. So Igor was in The Son of Frankenstein, Igor was also in The Ghost of Frankenstein in 1942, but there was no Igor in the original Frankenstein. It is Fritz.

SPEAKER_04 55:31

But we did get Igor in 1974's Young Frankenstein.

SPEAKER_02 55:36

What a classic that is. I feel like we have to get to that movie. That's just a great film.

SPEAKER_04 55:41

We also have Igor in the Monsters.

SPEAKER_02 55:44

We do.

SPEAKER_03 55:48

But that's why. Because of the monsters, I think. Like I know Igor, but from the monsters, I think that that translated more with our generation, obviously.

SPEAKER_02 55:57

I'm even getting tattooed, right? I'm getting tattooed by my artist years ago. I'm getting the portrait of Boris Karloff as the monster on my arm. He's doing like the background stuff. So it's the lab and it's the levers and stuff. And he's got the dude sitting at the lab and he's saying, Oh, it's Igor. And I'm like, no, there's no fucking Igor in this movie. It's Fritz. There's no Igor. So people just automatically think Igor Frankenstein, Igor, Frankenstein, and that's it. And it's not that it's not the case. That's not the case.

SPEAKER_03 56:28

That's why we have you, Sean. Educate the masses. Course correct. Sean's like, knock off that bitch shit. Yeah, I imagine that you almost slap the needle off of him like, don't fucking tattoo me. You don't know shit.

SPEAKER_02 56:38

Shit, I would if I wasn't worried about having something shitty on my arm. You know what I mean? Because that would be bad. That would be worse. That would be bad. But hold on. We can't talk about characters and not talk about the skeleton that Fritz runs into because that was a real fucking skeleton. That was not a prop.

SPEAKER_03 56:57

It was a real skeleton? The one that he pulls down and he's like, wee.

SPEAKER_02 57:01

Yes. Why are you surprised, Binks? Plastic skeletons did not really exist back then, nor was it easy to find. I have one sitting in my garage. His name is Jack. He's great. He's sitting there. He's got one arm. He's awesome.

SPEAKER_05 57:13

Love that.

SPEAKER_02 57:13

But they actually, I think, said, if I'm not mistaken, it was cheaper to actually go and buy a real skeleton from a local supply shop or a biological supply shop than it was to try to track down some prop of a skeleton or make a prop of a skeleton. So that dude is a character in this film, and he didn't even know it, and he's not even getting paid. Look at that. I think his family should at least get paid.

SPEAKER_04 57:36

I love this because we've seen this happen in so many other horror movies that we've reviewed, and it never gets old.

SPEAKER_02 57:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 57:42

It's like a special layer of audacity.

SPEAKER_02 57:46

It's great.

SPEAKER_00 57:47

Before we fully move on from characters, there's one character that we could dive into for probably two hours. How did Frankenstein break into the house without anyone realizing it? On the day of a wedding with hundreds of people around, how did he do that? This to me is the worst part of the movie because it hurts my brain that suddenly he's in the house and nobody knows.

SPEAKER_04 58:09

Now we question logistics in this movie, huh? Now we're poking more holes. Whoa, that's so crazy. Yeah, that reminds me of a movie called He Knows You're Alone, which we originally reviewed on the podcast. It's an archived episode, but there's definitely a grown mass man who breaks into a house on a wedding day.

SPEAKER_02 58:30

I'm not gonna sit here and poke holes, and I appreciate it. I really don't know how to pull the worst part of the film. I can tell you what I do wonder about the film. What I think is really interesting is that the film's portrayal of the monster was this inarticulate brute, while the novel portrays this monster as intelligent and fully capable of complex thought and emotions. And so I think that it's so drastically different that while I absolutely love this film with all of my heart, I do find myself sometimes wondering what it would be like had it stayed 100% faithful to Mary Shelley's novel. And would it have been a great movie? Would it have impacted the same? Because when you think about it, I don't know that I get the same feeling from the novel than I do from the film. The same relatability feeling and the outcast feeling and all these different things out of the novel as I do from the film. I don't know if that's a worst part, but it is something that I do wonder about the film, and that's as close as you're gonna get to me giving a worst part of this film.

SPEAKER_03 59:33

That's fair. I didn't expect you to botch your favorite movie of all time or try to fake a worst part. So I appreciate the integrity, that's for sure. In the same thought though, of like wondering, my worst part would be that abrupt end time, like it abruptly ending. But from the approach that rather than it ending so abruptly, I would have liked just a little bit more. Because I liked that it was a quick watch, but it was actually so good that we could have benefited from maybe a little bit more time and maybe a smoother landing for this ending, I guess. I agree that the comedic relief was necessary, especially in 1931. But I don't know, maybe a smoother landing, a little bit longer, I could have used a little bit more because I was having fun, I enjoyed it. It's so simple and so engaging that why wouldn't I buckle in for a coup for a couple more minutes, you know? But your idea of combining both Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein continuously would have been great for sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:33

Yeah, there is so much that's good in this movie, and I do think that the logistics of Maria's death might be the worst part for me, which I think is saying a lot. This is a really good movie. Her death isn't that far-fetched, it is tragic, it's drowning, but still, it was the logical leap to immediate murder that threw red flag for me. Either way, it's not going to discourage me from re-watching this movie. And being because I'm actually glad it's as short as it is because I've already identified when I'm watching it next. Y'all ready for this shit? February 14th. It's a Wednesday. I have the day off. I will be watching all the classic Frankenstein movies, and then I'm gonna take myself to go see Lisa Frankenstein.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:15

Self-love.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:16

Yeah, self-love.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:18

That's a nice Valentine's Day.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:21

For myself, absolutely, yes. When it comes to me re-watching this, I foresee that I'll definitely re-watch Come Halloween time when we get to Bride of Frankenstein, which I hope we that we do sometime soon. Just do another watch so I can do that continuous run-through like you did today, Chris. Why wouldn't you just pop this on? I'd like to also kind of maybe do a classics, you know? Now that I've kind of we've done all three major ones that I can think of, Invisible Man would probably be like next, but like, you know, doing the Mummy, Dracula, just one after the other. I think that'd be really fun. Caligari, boom, boom, boom.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:54

Okay, so we gotta finally take up Sean and his invitation where we just go up there and make some spooky food and watch all the classics.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:02

Let's do it.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:03

Oh, yep.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:04

Let's do it. Yeah, listen, this is a film that I put on as I'm going to bed sometimes. It's just that level of comfort for me with this film. We're talking about watching these different horror classics and all of that. I'm as excited, maybe more now, for us to watch Bride of Frankenstein because this movie did a lot. But Bride of Frankenstein is arguably a better film from a production standpoint. You have a more thoughtful script, you have this larger budget for the production elements. I cannot wait for everyone to dive into this film.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:39

I will say I do admire it, its legs as a sequel and not just a continuation of a franchise, but like in the true essence of what a sequel should be.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:48

Well, if it's good enough for Commander Charles Trip Tucker III from Enterprise, the TV show, honestly, good enough for me. And I think this is something you can see people putting on in the future when they're just looking back at good films. A hundred years from now, if they're like, let's watch some classic movies back when movies still existed, before everything was VR, what should we put on? They might pick something like Con Air, but they're also gonna pick something like this. You gotta have a good mix and match. And I think that speaks for me as well, you know? There's gonna be a time where I got an hour and 15 minutes to fill, and I want something black and white, something classic and tasteful, and I think this is the kind of movie I'd want to watch.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:25

Well, I am so excited to know that we all fare so highly on this film and that we're open to re-watching it, but for now, there you have it, folks. Frankenstein from 1931 has earned a universal slash. Now we certainly had a robust discussion here, but it doesn't end here by any means. We want to know what you think.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:43

How would you react if you had Frankenstein reanimate someone, or rather you encountered the monster? Either way, let us know. You can join in on the conversation by hanging out with us for free in our Discord. Click the link in our show notes to sign up.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:57

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