Director: James Whale
Year: 1931
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
Attempting to finish his experiments, a doctor's quest to reanimate the dead results in the creation of a being made from dead body parts who begins to haunt his very existence trying to keep its identity a secret from others before he's forced to finally deal with the creature once and for all.
Review:
This was one of the all-time greatest films in the genre and really has a lot to like. What really works so well here for this one is that it goes overboard in explaining the intricacies of life after death with this one getting an incredibly sinister atmosphere and tone from this work. Their need for gathering up the body and getting it to the laboratory lets the depths of his insanity take hold in his frantic raving that seals his experiments in the loony variety as his crazy actions give way to the film's highlight sequence of its reanimation. From the opulent sets filled with all manners of electronic gadgets and plenty of fanciful equipment which really bring out the grand nature of the location and the spectacle of the lightning crashing and bringing the hand to stir to life which is still one of the most visually arresting and chilling scenes in the genre, this whole sequence scores and becomes utterly enjoyable.
As well, with the great scenes of them attempting to control it in the laboratory which proves incredibly difficult with his violent tendencies and begins lashing out at them forcing their need to dispose of it before it escapes which is where there's plenty of fun to be had here with the creature loose in the countryside generating more solid fun with the legendary sequence of it with the little girl and finally appearing at the house during the wedding which is another great and truly fun sequence. Finally, the action-packed spectacle that is the finale is one of the best in the genre with its full-scale hunting of the creature out in the mountains and leading to the big battle at the windmill where not only is there the torch-wielding mob to contend with but also the brawling of the doctor that makes for a rather fun and frantic series of scenes here and really give this the kind of spectacular finish needed in this kind of movie.
All told these efforts here, as well as the exceptionally chilling monster make-up and the legendary personality given to the creature which is still one of the greatest portrayals of the concept ever, really give this one so much to like that it manages to hold up over the few minor and barely detrimental elements present here which comes from the rather unnecessary and irrelevant scenes of them getting married and celebrating by the atrocious dance-number which is just seemingly endless and really out-of-place in this type of film. That leads to a dull part of the film where they ignore the creature altogether and it really hampers the film somewhat as it sticks out against the rest of the fun action, but otherwise, there's a lot to really like with this one.
Overview: *****/5
A classic in every sense of the word, this is still one of the more impressive and genuinely enjoyable genre efforts regardless of the period which is what causes this one to retain the power it does. Give this a shot if you're a fan of the style, appreciate Classic-Era Horror, or are fans of the genre as a whole while any others out there that aren't sure about it due to its origins should still seek this one out.
Comments
Post a Comment