An 18-year-old British woman named Mary Shelley developed one of the most emblematic horror monsters when she wrote Frankenstein in 1818. Inspired by galvanism, Shelley tells the story of scientist Victor Frankenstein, who pieces together his own salient humanoid using body parts from dead people. Upon bringing his creature to life, Victor abandons him, leaving the behemoth to fend for himself in a foreign world.
The first Frankenstein monster appeared on film in a 1910 silent short by Edison Studios, and it proves to be one of the most explored and reimagined characters in genre history. This list delves into five of the best and five of the worst Frankenstein monsters from the world of horror movies.
Best: The Monster In Frankenstein (1931)
Universal Studios charged landmark horror actor Boris Karloff with transforming the Frankenstein creature into a big picture monster. Thanks to Karloff's acting and Jack Pierce's cutting-edge special effects, this cinematic take on the book's complicated colossus is still the most recognizable.
The plot sticks close to the source material, following the monster as he enacts revenge against his creator, renamed Henry. The movie was a commercial and critical success, and the monster's large forehead, neck bolts, and penetrating stare are unmatched.
Worst: Adam In I, Frankenstein (2014)
One of the worst refashionings of the Frankenstein monster, I, Frankenstein stars a very muscular Aaron Eckhart in the title role. Based on a comic book of the same name, the monster dons the name Adam, as well as a very pronounced six-pack.
The movie picks up after Adam pursues his creator, Victor, to the Arctic. After he enacts his revenge, Adam is attacked by demons and saved by gargoyles. He then travels through the millennia fighting demons.
Best: The Monster In Young Frankenstein (1974)
A classic Mel Brooks parody of Universal's 1931 feature, Young Frankenstein stars Gene Wilder as a descent of Victor Frankenstein who recreates his ancestor's work. Peter Boyle is the fumbling creature he brings to life, a monster who loves violin music and dancing to "Puttin' On The Ritz." The creature also, it turns out, is very skilled in the bedroom.
Instead of abandoning him, Wilder's character Frederick transfers a portion of his intellect to his creation, which saves the beast from being skewered by angry townsfolk.
Worst: Teenage Frankenstein Monster In I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957)
Gary Conway cheapens the power and depth of the Frankenstein monster with his campy depiction of the creature as an aggressive reanimated teenager. The hideously deformed wilding is the work of the English Dr. Frankenstein, who turns his creature into a remorseless killing machine.
Fueled by exploitative violence toward female characters, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein will forever remain in the annals of terrible feature films.
Best: The Creation In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)
What hasn't Robert De Niro tried? Although it's a flawed film, De Niro's attempt to bring the monster to life in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein received praise from critics. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, the film is by far the most Shakespearan of the book's adaptations.
Even though it veers from the book in many ways, the film stays true to Shelley's themes and characterizations. After being deserted by his maker, the Frankenstein monster tries to adapt to society. When it becomes clear he will never be accepted, the creature transforms into a violent brute in a way only De Niro can pull off.
Worst: Mosaico In Frankenstein '80 (1972)
This gory Italian horror movie turns the Frankenstein monster into a soulless slasher who massacres beautiful women left and right. Instead of being discarded, the creature escapes Dr. Frankenstein's lab. From there, he engages in a gruesome killing spree.
In the movie, the monster is referred to as Mosaico, and this large, hulky ragdoll only seems motivated to brutalize sexually objectified female characters.
Best: The Creature In Frankenstein: The True Story (1973)
What's compelling about this made-for-television adaptation is that the Frankenstein monster, played by Michael Sazzarin, begins his journey as a physically perfect and attractive reanimated humanoid. Working with his friend Dr. Henry Clerval, Dr. Victor Frankenstein brings the creature to life.
Knowing his creature es for human, Dr. Frankenstein introduces him to London high society. The creature, though, slowly transforms into a hideous and putrid corpse whose flesh decomposes. As his physical condition worsens, the monster turns on his creator.
Worst: Eddie Turner In Blackenstein (1973)
Hoping to capitalize on the success of 1972's Blacula, William A. Levey decided to remake Frankenstein as a blaxploitation movie. Unfortunately, it lacks the social relevancy and scares present in its predecessor.
Joe De Sue plays Eddie Turner, a Vietnam veteran who lost his arms and legs after stepping on a land mine. Turner's wife-to-be consults a geneticist who claims to have developed a limb transplant surgery. Unfortunately, it transforms Turner into a bestial, murderous monster.
Best: The Creature In The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)
Hammer's first color horror film, this British feature stars Christopher Lee as the Frankenstein monster and Peter Cushing as his creator, Victor Frankenstein. The movie doesn't hold back in depicting bloody acts of violence, a milestone for genre features across the pond.
Lee gives an agonizing performance as a monster whose poorly-constructed mental capacities make him a psychotic being with a savage streak. While Lee veers from the source material with his dehumanizing performance, it proves to be a well-made reinterpretation.
Worst: Viktor In The Bride (1985)
A silly, poppy, New Wave remolding of Shelley's work, The Bride stars Sting as Baron Charles Frankenstein. After giving life to a male humanoid, Baron Frankenstein decides to make a companion for his creature.
The result is Eva, a beautiful reanimated maiden who refuses to be subjugated by her creator. Clancy Brown plays the doltish original monster, a male so unappealing he causes the new lady in his life to run for the hills.
