What's it about? If you're familiar with Bram Stoker's Dracula then chances are you're familiar with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - the two books are perhaps the most famous horror novels ever written. Director James Whale plays a little loose with the original source material but the bare bones are there - mad scientist Dr. Frankenstein plays God and using the body parts of the dead creates a "monster" - except, of course, the real monsters are the humans who try to kill it.What makes it groundbreaking? Beyond the wonderful use of sets and lighting, which set the tone for many a Universal horror production which would follow lies a deep sense of humanity pervading throughout James Whale's Frankenstein in which fear of abandonment plays as much a role as generating scares. Only Dracula has featured in more movies than Frankenstein, but the only real competition for Whale's version came a short while later with his exceptional sequel, Bride of Frankenstein.
