Frankenstein

I don't know what it is, but I remember Frankenstein being much more impressive... The opening half hour in particular is almost boring in places. But with Boris Karloff, my need to yawn disappears, the scene with the little girl makes me shudder, and the finale with the mill is perfect. And did you know that it was only today that I realized that there is no music in the film?__P.S. Again, I know the comparison is unfair, but the version made by Kenneth Branagh is unbeatable. (11/08/2013)

A time-honoured classic that doesn’t have much to offer today. If you don't know about it, I’d recommend Brannagh's 1994 remake, which has a better cast, is more psychologically precise and more emotionally varied as a result. This is rather another mandatory entry in the textbook, one that everyone skips without being noticed and without punishment. 60% (01/05/2014)

This legendary horror classic brings to life one of the most famous monsters of all time, one that can proudly rival Dracula and the Wolfman. While you have to take into account the year the film was made, there are still a few memorable scenes that stick in your mind, like the one with Maria and the monster and especially the final scene at the mill. While it may not look as scary today as it did back then in the 1930s, it's still a quality film, and one that has an optimal running time to boot. (29/08/2011)

Spectacular, of course. The backdrop, full of expressionist nonlinearity and innovation, may seem ridiculous to today's viewer, but anyone with a love for black-and-white magic will succumb to the magic of Whale's film. Boris Karloff's performance is absolutely unforgettable, the way he breathed life into the monster so that it scares (his entrée in the film is grandiose) and at the same time arouses emotions (his futile desire to understand humanity!), this is acting mastery... James Whale created a classic of world horror and a film that will probably forever be written in the annals of cinema. What would film monsters be without Boris Karloff's unforgettable (originally supposedly greenish) mask? Even all the imperfections of the film today complete Frankenstein's myth... (29/01/2004)

An inconsistent classic. Boris Karloff is great and the individual scenes are brilliantly shot, but they are somehow mechanically, uninterestingly patched together into a single bland whole whose cardinal handicap is the absence of music. Besides the emotional charge of the film, music would have definitely increased the compactness of its ungainly editing. The sequel, Bride of Frankenstein, is a major step forward in every respect. (17/09/2003)