Directors have been mulling over the idea of recreating the Frankenstein film series for more than a hundred years. The creature from Frankenstein has undergone multiple reboots, altering the character’s nature to be a miserable one, frightening, or even comical. The monster has been a mirror of the new era’s dreams, fears, and creativity, hence, from gothic horror to quirky modern adaptations. So, which were the most influential retellings? Let’s turn off the light and enumerate the ten Frankenstein movies that have been the most landmark in the cinematic history of the monster.
10. Frankenstein Unbound (1990)
Roger Corman’s last directorial film is half sci-fi adventure, half gothic horror, and half love letter to Shelley herself. In it, a contemporary weapons scientist (John Hurt) is transported back in time and finds himself in 19th-century Geneva, where he encounters not only Frankenstein and his monster but also Mary Shelley. With Raúl Julia giving a decadently crazed performance as Victor and Michael Hutchence appearing as Percy Shelley, the film is marvelously strange. It isn’t true to the book, but its lighthearted, meta reinterpretation of the myth makes it list-worthy.
9. The Bride (1985)
Picture Victor Frankenstein played by Sting and the creature’s intended bride played by Jennifer Beals—That’s The Bride. The movie borrows Shelley’s novel’s “bride” subplot and turns it into its own tale, contrasting the selfish attempts by the doctor to shape the woman he has made with the original monster’s moving quest for acceptance. Although incoherent, the movie is well-remembered for its graphic gender issues and most notably for Clancy Brown’s poignant, innocent performance as the spurned male creature. It’s messy but ambitious, and it dares to give the monster heart.
8. Frankenweenie (2012)
Tim Burton’s monochrome stop-motion jewel combines the Frankenstein legend with the neighborhood setting. So, a boy called Victor brought back to life his beloved dog Sparky, only to cause pandemonium as the rest of his friends tried to copy the experiment. On the one hand, Frankenweenie can be considered absolutely charming due to its being full of Burtonian atmosphere, Old School monster flick references, and on the other hand, it is an amazingly touching film about losing and letting go. It is proof that Shelley’s story can be entertaining for both kids and adults if it is witty and imaginative.
7. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
By the time it was the late 1940s, Universal’s monster movies were pretty much dead—except for when the comedy duo Abbott and Costello revived them, that is. This horror-comedy mashup introduces Dracula, the Wolfman, and, naturally, Frankenstein’s monster as the villains who are confronted with the jests and pranks of the comedians. What we have here is campy delight, which still manages to be faithful to the monster’s background. For the children of that era, this was their first contact with Frankenstein, showing that the creature could still exist even in spoofs.
6. Young Frankenstein (1974)
Mel Brooks’ loving lampoon is a masterpiece of comedy and one of the best Frankenstein movies, to say the least. Gene Wilder is the eccentric Dr. “Fronkensteen” who is trying to dissociate himself from his infamous family tree. The use of black-and-white and the painstaking replication of Universal’s aesthetic achieves an impressive combination of satire and genuine love. From “Puttin on the Ritz” to Igor’s touching hump, it is one of those movies where you can never stop quoting lines—and at the same time, it paradoxically manages to be as heartfelt as it is hilarious.
5. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
When Hammer Studios resurrected Frankenstein in radiant color, they went all out. Peter Cushing turned Victor into a cold, heartless, evil genius, while Christopher Lee’s monster was terrifying, pitiful, and etched on your memory. The film shocked the public with its brutality and gore, heralding a new era of horror that reveled in the murky side of the moral spectrum. It was not just a remake—it went to reconstruct the legend for the modern age—daring, gory, and memorable.
4. Frankenstein (1931)
This film is the one that created the monster’s iconic image of popular culture: the flat head, the bolts on the neck, and the stomping walk. Boris Karloff did a scary yet touching job, and Colin Clive’s desperate “It’s alive!” became one of the many references in cinematic history. Despite the fact that it greatly differs from Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein is more than a film—it’s the reason why Frankenstein became a cultural icon.
3. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
James Whale’s follow-up is commonly regarded as the jewel in the crown of Frankenstein movies. A mix of equal parts camp, tragedy, and subversion, it delves deeper into issues of loneliness, identity, and longing for companionship. Elsa Lanchester’s Bride makes a fleeting appearance, but her electrified hair and piercing look are forever preserved. More subtle than the original, the movie is a queer classic and an uncommon sequel that bettered its original.
2. Frankenstein (1994) by Mary Shelley
Kenneth Branagh’s operatic version is the most lofty effort to bring Shelley’s novel onto the screen. Robert De Niro’s performance as the creature is raw and vulnerable, articulating the pain and desire of the character. The film is dismissed as excessively melodramatic but is more faithful to the novel’s blend of horror, philosophy, and tragedy than most of its predecessors. Perhaps it is melodramatic, but it is one of the nearest Hollywood has gotten to Shelley’s vision.
1. Frankenstein (2011 National Theatre) & Hallmark’s Frankenstein (2004)
The most faithful adaptations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein are not the ones that can be found in the cinema but rather those on stage and television. The 2011 National Theatre production with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller playing alternately both Victor and the creature is still very much talked about, praised for its affection and loyalty. At the same time, Hallmark’s 2004 miniseries is a very close retelling of Shelley’s novel, and even the creature’s eloquent speeches and its yellowish skin can be recognized from the original. Both are far from having the same popularity as Universal’s classics, but they are the first ones to give Shelley’s story and her monster the justice that they deserve.
The monster from Frankenstein has been transformed from a terrifying horror into a ridiculous comedy innumerable times; nevertheless, he still doesn’t fail to evoke the same uneasy questions: What is the true essence of humanity? Who is the real culprit – the creation or the creator? No matter if they are made in black-and-white or in stop-motion, the monster is still one of the films that delves the deepest into human nature.