Frankenstein has long been considered as one of the most influential horror movies of all time. Few horror movie fans, though, realize the scope of how influential Frankenstein actually was, and continues to be to this day. If it were not for Frankenstein, the horror movie genre would be completely different.
Dethroned Dracula and Made Universal Studios
When discussing the influence of Frankenstein, the first place to start is how the 1931 classic starring Boris Karloff dethroned the character of Dracula as the face of horror in the United States. Granted, the movie, Dracula, was released on February 14th, 1931, and Frankenstein was released on November 21st, 1931, but the breakthrough that Frankenstein made was significant.
From February of 1931, until late November of 1931, the only talk in Hollywood was about the future legacy of Dracula as a series of movies, and of a reoccurring character in multiple movies. With Dracula, Universal Studios essentially trapped lightning in a bottle. Universal Studios created a literal monster that was sure to sit at the top of the box office for years.
When Frankenstein came out, Universal Studios was able to get lightning to strike twice in the same year. Universal Studios had arrived and proved that only Universal Studios could top a Universal Studios monster movie. After the November of 1931, all mouths in Hollywood, and in movie theaters across the country bantered in a frenzy for more of Frankenstein’s Monster.
Sympathy for a Monster
One of the aspects that is usually applauded when discussing Frankenstein is the fact that the audience was drawn into a feeling of sympathy for the monster. For the first time in history, the lines between hatred and sympathy were blurred when discussing a creature that was made of nightmares. To this day, this is a common aspects of many horror movies.
Censorship Becomes the True Monster
It goes without saying how controlling groups of movie censors have become in the United States, and in other countries. Due to Frankenstein, it was no longer up to the director and production company as to what was good for people to watch. It became up to a small group of individuals to decide what was appropriate for the general viewing audience.
Frankenstein was one of the first movies in movie history to be gone over by censors with a fine-toothed comb. There were certain aspects of the movie that censors believed would enrage the strong Christian core of the United States. It was not until 1986 when horror movie fans were able to see the complete version of Frankenstein with the deleted line, “Now I know what it is like to be God!,” the close-up of the needle going into the monster’s arm, and the scene of the girl being thrown into the lake.
Brought Fear to Horror Movies
Before Frankenstein, audiences expected to have a chill, or a little twinge in the stomach when watching a horror movie. In the early scene when Boris Karloff, as the Monster, walks through the door into the light, the audience got a shock that few had ever experienced before. The audience saw a creature for the first time that was close to human, but distinctly foreign and, “misbegotten by God.”
Reports came out across the United States of people being treated, or even dieing from, heart failure while viewing Frankenstein. Modern audiences see little scary in the visage of Frankenstein’s Monster. At the time of release, though, most of the equipment of the makeup department could be contained in a container the size of a fishing tackle box. The accomplishment in Frankenstein brought true fear to a horror movie for the fist time.
Revolutionized Movies In Japan
When discussing the movie scene in Japan from the 1950s until the 1970s, most discussions will focus on cheap martial arts movies. Few horror movie fans will point to the fact that horror movies based on Frankenstein topped the box office in Japan for years. In the years after the destruction of atomic power in Japan, the fears of what could go wrong with science became a topic that many of the Japanese could relate to.
Universal Studios re-released Frankenstein in Japan in March of 1951. Soon after viewing the infamous movie in the theater, Ishiro Honda began working on his own movie that would introduce movie fans to a new kind of monster that was born of deadly science but could gain the sympathy of the viewing audience. After viewing Frankenstein, Honda began work on his infamous character Gojira (known as Godzilla in America).
While there are hundreds of other significant issues that can be discussed about the cultural influence of Frankenstein, these have proven to be the most enduring influences, and can still be seen in horror movies of the modern day. Frankenstein was not only one of the most influential horror movies of all time, it was one of the most influential movies of all time.
Larry Poupard - Larry is a freelance writer who is based in Warren, Michigan. Previous to his current career, he worked as a freelance political ...
