Doctor Frankenstein and his monster discover the meaning of life in James Whale’s iconic FRANKENSTEIN.

It’s alive!

The birth of the technological age (electricity! science!) sparked an ever-lasting debate between the coexistence of science and spiritual belief in our modern world. So when Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1808, it unsurprisingly created a narrative that has endured until this day. But it’s James Whales’ film version of Frankenstein that has cemented the “monster” into immortality. Adjustments were made for the cinema (it’s actually more based on a 1927 play) but the ambitious Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s creation of a living man from corpses sets the foundation for his turmoil and our understanding of what it means to be human. It is also without-a-doubt the life actor Boris Karloff gives to the “monster” that makes us love this film and all the silly incarnations that have come since. Playing God has never been so good.

Part of Nitehawk’s October SCIENCE! midnite and brunch series.