Frankenstein Doesn’t Die!

At 206 years old Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus (as it’s also known) continues to inspire artists across the world. With countless retellings and interpretations the Frankenstein story about an obsessed Doctor who wants to bring life to the dead seems to have a profound effect on each generation that comes behind it. 

Inspired by experiments that were happening at the time, where scientists were attempting to bring dead animals back to life using electricity. Shelly was just 18 when she wrote Frankenstin, famously as a bet between her husband and Lord Byron as to who could write the scariest story. And to this day it remains an excellent example of imaginative horror and is even claimed by some to be the first true science fiction story.

Recently Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, gave us the much lauded Poor Things, based on the 1992 Award winning book Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D,Scottish Public Health Officer by Alasdair Gray. Starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo. Poor Things takes elements of the Frankenstein tale and breathes fresh life into it, often with hilarious results. Emma Stone plays Bella Baxter, who is an experiment. Her ‘father’ Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) whom she affectionately refers to as “God” created her after  fishing out the  lifeless body of a pregnant woman from the River Thames. Replacing the woman’s brain with the unborn child, Bella is a character rarely seen in movies. Her childlike wonder and inability to behave in a way polite society dictates makes for an exhilarating unpredictable time, as Bella traverses Europe learning what it is to be human.  The first act of the film, all shot in black and white is clearly paying homage to the gothic horror movies of the 30’s and 40’s. With remarkable art direction, cinematography and daring performances, Poor Things is a strangely wonderful movie which wears its Frankenstein influences with pride. It also is a fantastic barometer for how the zeitgeist has changed from even a decade ago. For the movie to be embraced the way it has been by critics and audiences alike shows us that taboos that would have been totally unacceptable and too controversial for public display are finally being broken. There is a refreshing freedom in this Frankensteinesque tale and well worth catching if you haven’t seen it yet.

t’s not the only Frankensteinesque movie out there. On the horizon the daughter of Robin Williams, Zelda is set to make her feature film directorial debut with Lisa Frankenstein. Billed as a coming of RAGE story and written by Diablo Cody (Jennifer’s Body). Lisa Frankenstein will possibly  be Generation Alpha’s  introduction to the ideas Mary Shelly presented over two centuries ago.

But perhaps the most exciting of these modern iterations of the famous story will come later next year when master of the macabre, Guillermo del Toro turns his attention to one of his favorite stories. Stating that “my future was set the first time I saw Frankenstein”. Del Toro might yet provide us with the quintessential screen version of the Mary Shelly classic. Looking set to film in parts of  Scotland later on this year and with Jacob Elordi (Saltburn) taking over Monster duties from Andrew Garfield. Del Toro’s Frankenstein will be a treat for monster fans across the world with genre favorite Mia Goth (Pearl) Oscar Issac (Star Wars) and Christoph Waltz (Django) on board this is sure to be a monster movie to be on the lookout for.

The story of Frankenstein shows no sign of ever dying, with new mad doctors waiting just around the corner to zap fresh life into its tried and tested formula. Maybe two hundred years from now we’ll still be dissecting it.