Son of Frankenstein

Starring: Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Josephine Hutchinson
Directed by: Rowland V. Lee
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Drama
1939

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Dr. Frankenstein's son (Basil Rathbone) returns home to his father's castle and gets involved with experiments to bring the monster back to life.

Review:

Tim: Generally, I've been a fan of the Universal Frankenstein films. However, I was a bit disappointed with the previous entry, The Bride of Frankenstein. While widely regarded as a horror classic, I felt like the film was far too flawed to enjoy that status. It wasn't a terrible movie, but I liked it significantly less than I expected. Luckily, the next film in the franchise was Son of Frankenstein, a film which is quite good, and reversed the downward trend. I actually really enjoyed this movie.

The cast is pretty incredible. Boris Karloff once again returns as the Monster, and he truly is the best actor to ever wear that makeup. Karloff knows how to play this role, and he's quite frightening in this film. We learn more about the monster's anatomy in this film, which makes the audience feel a bit more connected with this creature. Karloff is very, very good. Now, I will say that one of the bigger flaws in this film is that the Monster's ability to speak has completely vanished. I suppose you could argue that the coma and the mental damage he suffered removed his ability to speak, but I find a speaking monster more interesting than a mute one. Still, Karloff makes this movie.

I really enjoyed the casting of Basil Rathbone as Dr. Frankenstein's son. Rathbone brings some real charisma to the role. Rathbone is an accomplished actor, and he works well in the role. I found his performance created a more well-rounded, effective character. While the inexplicable obsession with his father's experiments is a bit hard to buy, I found him a fascinating character and I really enjoyed his performance. He works well with Lionel Atwill, who also gives a good performance. Watching these two actors together was pretty fun.

As if Karloff and Rathbone weren't enough, we get Bela Lugosi as Ygor. Lugosi is pretty fantastic in the role. While there are a few moments of over-acting, for the most part, he makes the role fascinating. He brings so much energy and force to the role. In many ways, he's the real villain here, but he is a complex, complicated character. He was great fun to watch. I really, really enjoyed his performance here. Lugosi makes this movie much better than it would have been with any normal throwaway actor in the role.

The story is fairly interesting, although it's not exactly complex. We have some fascinating dynamics- we have the relationship between the Baron Frankenstein and Ygor- whose terse relationship comes together when their goals temporarily align. We have the relationship with Ygor and the Monster (which is what, exactly?). We have the dyanmics between the Baron and Krogh, who begins to suspect him more and more. We also have interesting family dynamics between the Frankenstein family. There's all these intriguing characters put together in extraordinary circumstances, and it's fun to watch.

I loved the creepy atmosphere of Frankenstein's castle in this film. The laboratory itself is quite fun to watch, and I absolutely loved the sulfur pits. The secret passageways are intriguing and used quite effectively in the film. The movie gives us a memorable, exciting conclusion (maybe the best of the whole franchise up to this point). I loved the exciting, nerveracking conclusion.

After the slight disappointment with the previous entry, I found Son of Frankenstein to be an exciting, entertaining horror movie. While it still has some flaws, it's a solidly made, worthwhile film. It is much more realistic than the last film, and I was engaged throughout the movie. This is a solid sequel, and I'm excited for future entries in this franchise.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein