10 Offbeat And Frequently Silly Frankenstein Films

8. Gothic (1986)

A Frankenstein film that comes at the topic in a left field way, Gothic takes us back in time to when Mary Shelley actually wrote the script. Directed by the Enfant Terrible of British cinema, Ken Russell, he takes us to Lord Byron's estate where over the course of a night drug induced games are played and ghost stories told. The protagonists are forced into confronting their own personal nightmares and Lord Byron is on hand to drag them deeper into the abyss. The film is an interesting one to watch as it shows us the context in which Frankenstein was written. Laudanum fuelled hallucinations and dreams a go go, all stirred up by that notorious pervert miscreant Lord Byron. Russell's particular directorial flamboyance is in evidence here, and it has to be said, he goes a little far in trying to portray all of the hallucinatory and oneiric maelstrom surrounding the characters. It is so overblown, it removes the viewer's interest in the story and makes one giggle instead of being intrigued (which is presumably what Russell wanted to achieve). Julian Sands is very poor in his role as Percy Shelley - he does his usual incoherent cry baby turn. However, Gabriel Byrne gives a good performance as Byron and the late Natasha Richardson is excellent as Mary Shelley. Fans of bizarre psychodramas may go for this one, and Russell enthusiasts.