There have been complaints that Frankenstein is dated. Personally I don't find that, it isn't the most sumptuous of all films, but it is still a wonderful film, that is still shocking and enthralling to me. The Gothic set design is very imaginative, helped by the beautiful cinematography with suitably bizarre camera angles, and the music score is haunting, melancholy and atmospheric. James Whale's direction is also very impressive, it is very focused and innovative. The story is without a doubt a classic, tense, moody and melancholic, and the Monster itself is just a masterful creation. The cast are superb, Colin Clive is very good as the eccentric Henry Frankenstein, while Mae Clarke is an alluring and sympathetic Elizabeth. There is no doubt in my mind though that Boris Karloff gave the best performance, not only that but the definitive portrayal of the monster. He is almost unrecognisable and scary with his make up, and while he was scary with the towering presence and the frightening look in his eyes, his monster is also somewhat touching, particularly when he reaches up to grasp a ray of sunlight. Overall, shocking, enthralling and just wonderful. "It's Alive!" 10/10 Bethany Cox
As much as the later movies diluted the character of the Frankenstein creature, nothing could blunt the impact made by Karloff in the role of the most memorable movie monster of all time.
Universal entrusted the direction of Frankenstein to James Whale. He did it in the Grand Guignol manner, with as many queer sounds, dark corners, false faces and cellar stairs as could possibly be inserted.
It is naturally a morbid, gruesome affair, but it is something to keep the spectator awake, for during its most spine-chilling periods it exacts attention.
This is a classic movie that you never gets old.
This made Boris Karloff horror icon!
This is a movie that the whole family can watch. It might be too intense for younger children.
At side of Nosferatu and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, a pioneer of terror genre. The screenplay isn't quite faithful to Mary Shelley book, but you can forgive due the detail of who is the monster: the creature or the creator. Despite it's 90 years old, still is ghastly due the presence of Boris Karloff.
I don't necessarily think it's a bad movie, I just had a hard time getting into it. I thought the pacing was slow. It felt like there were parts of the movie just skipped over due to the odd fade to black moments throughout. It doesn't age as well as you would hope it would, at least in comparison to other universal monster movies.