PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Erle C. Kenton’s House of Frankenstein holds its own in the classic horror underbelly, like a black market for movies we loved. The golden age of horror lasted a lot longer than we imagined. We can pick movies that stick with us under the black-and-white glare. Universal Studios owned horror back in the day. Nothing could compare to the tasteful and well-calculated scariness.
This was back when horror flourished as a great movie for a date night. Guys would pick these for the small chance the girl would get scared and cuddle. These days, these were innocent gestures of “Oh my God, these people are dead!” The story made everything clear, people didn’t need to ponder the storyline of a movie. House of Frankenstein is celebrating its 80th birthday this year, and with that in mind. There’s a lot to say about this movie. Let’s dig in on an absolute classic!
Synopsis
20 years after the Wolfman and Dracula met their demise. The deranged Dr. Niemann (Boris Karloff) and his loyal hunchback assistant, Daniel (J. Carrol Naish) escape the asylum and come to wreak havoc on the village of innocent people. The duo robs and kills the members of a traveling horror sideshow and they take the reigns. reviving not only the evil Count Dracula (John Carradine) but also the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.) and Frankenstein’s monster (Glenn Strange) is found in an iceberg as well. All in order to exact revenge upon their many enemies.
A Legacy
House of Frankenstein is the 6th installment of the Universal Horrors Frankenstein timeline of events. It featured almost every horror star of the time, at least in the Universal Studios community. It welcomes back its own small crew time after time, with actors floating in and out. Honestly? It was a very DIY time. House of Frankenstein relied on very disturbing sets and imagination. Movies like this made things fun for people. You could look back on a movie like House of Frankenstein with fond memories because you didn’t have to sit and think for hours about the plot of a movie. Things were fresh and simple at the time.
House of Frankenstein is from another world. A world where you didn’t have to rely on scares to be scary. Instead, it was about the setting, and the tone, they wanted you to believe their story. They wanted you to be creeped out for a good while after seeing the movie. They made these movies for the thrill of it, to share beautifully told horror novels. Also yes, they wanted you to pee your pants. House of Frankenstein didn’t rely on a single drop of blood. It did have some spectacular FX with the bat formation. House of Frankenstein still holds true, it makes you want to turn on the lights after watching.
In The End
I enjoy this movie, just for the sake of nostalgia. We are eons beyond the times of radio stories and foreboding castles. However; some of us long to be from that era of seeing these monsters on the big screen and running home before Dracula got us. Horror movies have gone in so many directions. Although I like the gore and lack of storyline in slasher movies, Universal Monsters gives me comfort. I can escape into a dark and dreary night in some Transylvanian castle. Movies like House of Frankenstein are worth their weight in gold these days. treasured relics of an innocent time of perfecting the art.
