It is common to find bad weather in horror movies and this is evident in both of the ‘Frankenstein’ movies. It is used just before and at the same time of the births. Whale and Branagh have used this technique because it gives a cold feeling and it gives credibility to what is happening in the foreground because the lighting, electricity is needed to make Frankenstein’s monster come alive.
The locations of the births are quite typical too. In the Whale version it’s in a castle on top of a hill. Like ‘House on haunted hill’ and it looks creepy and somewhere you would want to be. In the Branagh version it’s more like hell with cauldrons, heat and sweat. It reminds me of a witch brewing an evil poison. Both places for the birth are effective in creating a ‘horror’ atmosphere but the second choice is less obvious.
Non-diegetic, parallel fast background music can be heard in the birth scene in Branagh’s version and this creates suspense because it gets peoples adrenalin going. But it is typically found in horror movies for this reason in particular. In the Whale version there is no music but this could be because of how old the movie is and it was hard to sequence the music with the scenes.
In the Branagh version of ‘Frankenstein’ one of the best ways sympathy is created for the creature is by the way he is presented to the audience. He looks almost human but has scars all over his face and body. It looks like someone who has been hurt badly and we feel sorry for him. On the other hand in the Whale version though it’s harder to feel sorry for Frankenstein’s monster because he looks less human and it’s harder to connect to him emotionally.
In the Whale version ‘Frankenstein’ is wearing a lab coat and his hair is gelled back. He looks more professional and like a proper doctor. This makes us feel sorry for Frankenstein’s creation because it shows that Frankenstein just sees him as an experiment and not as a human being with feelings. Whereas in the Branagh version he looks more wild and rough looking. This gives us the feeling he does care about the outcome of the monster because he has been so busy trying to make the monster alive that he has forgotten about himself and when he thinks the monster is dead he goes “No, No, No”, implying that he is saddened that it didn’t work.
In Branagh’s version of ‘Frankenstein’ you feel sympathetic with the monster when he is born, as he is naked, clumsy, and unable to walk. Amniotic fluid is everywhere and we watch Frankenstein’s monster slide and slip about. He appears vulnerable, like a baby. He can’t control what he’s doing and Frankenstein has to help him. This makes us pity him. This contradicts with the Whale version as we don’t get to see the monster moving about, trying to touch or walk in the birth scene so we don’t feel for him as much as he is still covered up and still practically lifeless.
Also in the Branagh version when Frankenstein is inserting pins into the monster we see quick edits of the monster flitching and this makes us feel like he is in pain even though he is dead and we then feel sorry for him. We then see the tank fill up with amniotic fluid and the eels are put in. We see Victor run to the mains supply and connect it to the box and then quick edits of the creature’s body as it is going through immense pain, which are very good at creating sympathy for the creature. Also it helps create suspense because the audience are keen to know the outcome of the creation, and whether it has worked or not. In the Whale version you don’t see any life in Frankenstein so it doesn’t feel like he’s getting hurt.
Some sympathy is created for Frankenstein’s monster in both films as he is strapped to the lab table and gives the audience the feeling that the monster is trapped and has no control over him self or what happens to him.
Also in the Whale version we see a hanging rope, this takes us back to the beginning of the film when the body was cut from the gibet and how horrific it would have been for him and even though he wont remember that we feel sorry for him because he is going to have another bad life.
In Branagh’s version when the monster is born he stumbles about and gets caught in chains. He is dragged up and gets knocked on the head. He becomes unconscious but Frankenstein thinks he’s dead and leaves him up there all night. We feel bad for him because he’s only just been born and he has already gone through that and it only gets worse.
Various techniques create suspense in the two birth scenes. One thing that is common in both is that the monster is covered and we only get to see glimpses. This leaves us waiting to see what happens. We continue watching hoping to see the body uncovered.
In Branagh’s version when he is about to do the experiment we see him running and the camera is doing a tracking shot and it feels as if he is taking us with him. Then we see him wearing a magician’s cloak. It makes us think he’s about to do something magic and this theme continues when he is putting pins into the coffin shaped box because it seems like the old trick that they do when they take a body apart, stick pins in it and put it together again and it seems like the body is perfectly normal again. We can’t help but stay glued on because we want to see the magic trick finished and are intrigued by what he might be creating.
In both movies Frankenstein looks up continually often indicated by the camera panning upwards. He looks as if he is expecting something to appear or as if he is trying to communicate with someone higher. This creates suspense because we want to know who it is or why he is looking up so often.
Also included in both movies there is loud banging on doors before the experiment starts (diegetic sound) and as we know some people don’t agree with what Frankenstein is doing that he should not let anyone know because it will get him in trouble, This creates panic and as we don’t hate Frankenstein we don’t want him to have anything bad happen to him. So we watch to make sure everything turns out okay for him. Although in the Whale version Frankenstein appears to have no emotion and he almost seems inhuman. So it is easier to hate him.
In conclusion I would say that Branagh’s movie made us feel more sympathy for Frankenstein’s monster because when something bad happens to the monster you tend to put yourself in his place. The suspense is better too because you can connect better with the characters because you feel you know them and this is partly because you get to see them since they were children. Typical horror genre is seen more in the Whale version and this makes it seem more corny and unreal. This is partly because audience expectation is higher than it was back then and we now expect more from movies. So in conclusion the Branagh’s version of ‘Frankenstein’ is better.
