Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818, and the first film adaptation of it was made in 1910. Now, 208 years after the book was written and the 116 after the first film, there have been several adaptations of Shelley’s classic. Not all of them were great, but I thought five were certainly entertaining.
- Frankenstein (2025)
If you want a film with amazing cinematography and a deep dive into both Dr. Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) and his monster’s (Jacob Elordi) motivations, then I would highly recommend this film. However, I would not consider this film to even resemble a horror film; this is a narrative with a couple of violent scenes and a little bit of gore. Finally, while director Guillermo del Toro made every location look beautiful in every shot, it made me uneasy to watch a Frankenstein film in color (the other four on this list are black and white).
- Frankenstein (1931)
Dr. Henry Frankenstein creates a monster from corpses in this classic by Universal. Boris Karloff did a great job playing the monster, and I also liked the gimmicks the film used to enhance its terror, like warning audiences before the film started and crediting the monster only as “?”.
- Young Frankenstein (1974)
There are many great lines in this Mel Brooks adaptation of Frankenstein which puts a comedic filter over some of the most memorable scenes from Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder), a surgeon and grandson of Dr. Frankenstein, tries to distance himself from his notorious grandpa until he inherits the castle where the monster was created. The film is shot in black and white on the same set as the 1931 Frankenstein which makes it feel like a sequel in the same world as the 1931 Frankenstein and the 1935 Bride. Consequently, you might want to wait to watch this film until you’ve seen both Frankenstein and Bride.
- Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Universal continued to grant anonymity to actors by crediting the Monster’s mate as “?” in the sequel to the 1931 Frankenstein which was framed as the second chapter of the story told by Mary Shelley herself. Frankenstein and the monster both survive the events of Frankenstein, and Frankenstein is recruited by his former mentor, Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) to create a new monster. This movie was even better than the 1931 adaptation due to its plot and its further development of characters first introduced in the 1931 film. I especially loved the scene in which the monster befriends a blind, violin-playing hermit, who teaches the monster to talk.
- Frankenstein (1910)
Available for free on the Internet Archive and in the Public Domain, this short, directed by J. Searle Dawley, has some surprisingly impressive effects, especially in the creation sequence. Also, I really enjoyed the mirror shot, and I loved this film for its efficiency and clear themes. If you ever have fifteen minutes of free time, then you should definitely consider watching it.
