Categories: Blog of Damien S. Riley

The BBC Frankenstein is One Way to Look at it

Helen McCrory fans like myself were likely shocked and excited that the lovely actress was to play a female Dr. Frankenstein.

We know this only from the title however since her name is not mentioned as such. Along with the change of gender, this “incarnation” of the mythic monster film is highly protean. The things I liked best about it were: 1) The persona of a mother to the being, 2) The hideous yet credible creature, and 3) the veer away from reanimation in place of creation at a cellular level, like cloning it would seem.

You could correctly say that there is a motherly-like connection between Frankenstein, the novel monster, and his scientific creator. For that reason, this aspect is not a stretch. Still, it’s developed so well the horror is palpable and relatable to any parent. Every parent can relate with the situation in which the Dr. attempts to bring her child back to life. This film is supposedly modern so it doesn’t have the ghoulish charm of the old ones. At the same time, this scenario of the doctor as a mother to the monster speaks new volumes we could talk about. I recommend it on that aspect alone but there are other great attributes of this film.

The second thing to love about this film is the creature. It looks scary. There are shots where he’s moving where you can really believe the actor looks like that. If you’ve seen Tobe Hooper’s “Funhouse” film, you might compare the two creatures. What’s weird about it is it formed through cellular division and mutation as opposed to the Dr. digging up a corpse and reanimating it. In the tender shots with mom, the eyes are quite expressive. I have to admit I didn’t expect such a well formed creature in a BBC movie. I was wrong, it’s insanely cool looking. For the third thing, I want to share further about the angle of the film regarding cellular fusion and cloning.

Have you ever seen the “Dolly” lamb that was cloned? It’s creepy as all get up. The idea of a living thing that was born in a lab to me is terrifying. In the same breath I will say however it’s fascinating from a scientific perspective. It would have been cool to see the traditional path of these movies run its course but they made something new work. The more modern movies do that and as a result many have been made and have held the public’s full attention and praise. There is a sequence of images of amoebas and paramecium under the microscope. I loved that so much. The idea that life is relentless and will fight to live and even evolve.

In conclusion I highly recommend this film. It’s streaming now on Amazon Prime. I hope you’ll subscribe to my podcast and blog to get the latest monster movie I review in this series.

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Damien S. Riley

Humatiberal, Humorist, Author, Blogger, Podcaster, Singer-Songwriter, Accomplished Guitarist, Professor of English at Victor Valley College