If you’re going to need a human brain for the human you’re hoping to assemble, get it yourself and don’t dole out the task to your assistant. Just sayin’.

In an era before trigger warnings and cuts being made to the Carry On films, I remember this film being played on national TV one morning in the 80’s, which is when I saw it for the first time.

And I loved it then and still love it on watching the film in 2026.

There are many reasons why it’s entered the public lexicon so profoundly (amazing, genre-defining direction and photography, bold yet intricate performances, the themes raised in the film that are still relevant). But it’s the look they gave to the monster that has had the biggest imprint on popular culture. Whenever anyone mentions Frankenstein, it’s this incarnation by Boris Karloff that people think of.

But this isn’t all castles, thunderbolts and proto-Goth. This is also everyday life, a sunlit field by a river and a little girl who doesn’t care what the monster looks like. This is one of the greatest scenes ever shot for a horror film, within one of the greatest horror films ever shot.

Karloff’s performance is a multi-layered thing of beauty and truly awe-inspiring.

Frankenstein is a delight from start to finish.

5 out of 5 stars