What Does Frankenstein Look Like? This Movie Is the Most Accurate
Written by on May 31, 2023
When one thinks of Frankenstein, they usually have a specific picture of the monster in mind. Although most associate the name Frankenstein with the image of the story’s creature, the image of a big green monster as Frankenstein isn’t correct at all. In fact, it’s unlikely that people would think of the most-accurate movie depiction of Frankenstein’s monster.
There’s no questioning that Frankenstein and his monster are quite infamous in the horror world. It’s also one of the most adapted books, with an enormous number of direct adaptations only complimenting the hundreds of movies that were inspired by the Mary Shelley novel. One of the most book-accurate Frankenstein movies, released in 1994, is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which stars director Kenneth Branagh as Dr. Frankenstein and the very surprising Taxi Driver star Robert De Niro as his monster.
How Mary Shelley Described Frankenstein’s Monster
There are two main novels that are considered to be the original Frankenstein, and as it turns out, they’re both written by Mary Shelley. The 1818 version of Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus started as a mere writing competition between friends and quickly grew in popularity. After just a few years, the 500 existing copies of the book were all gone, and a play was created based on the story, which actually earned a reprint and eventually a second edition. The 1831 version of Frankenstein is the most read and adapted version of the story, having been adjusted a bit from the original. But, one aspect that stayed generally the same throughout Shelley’s writings is the gruesome appearance of Frankenstein’s monster.
Around the beginning of the commonly-adapted novel Frankenstein, Shelley’s titular character Victor Frankenstein gives life to his creature and describes it. Unfortunately, despite the hand-picked features of the creature, he wasn’t as beautiful as Dr. Frankenstein intended. His limbs were in proportion like the average human, his hair was jet black and flowy, and his teeth were pearly white, yet his yellowish skin barely covered the veins and such underneath. The most notable flaw was his dull, watery, and overall lifeless eyes. The creature is described by his creator as a catastrophe, but it seems he still somewhat looks like a human person.
Robert De Niro Remains Cinema’s Most Book-Accurate Monster
Robert De Niro is hardly an actor one would associate with Frankenstein or even the horror genre. However, his performance in Kenneth Branagh’s version of Frankenstein is widely regarded as one of the best portrayals of one of Universal’s iconic monsters. With that said, his portrayal is very notably book-accurate too. While his monster doesn’t fit what most think of when they think of Frankenstein, he is the most realistic looking in terms of the book.
To put it simply, De Niro’s monster looks like he was sewn together and struck by lightning. His face is notably beaten up, with his skin taking on a battered and discolored appearance. He’s not totally accurate when compared word-for-word with Shelley’s story. But he’s certainly as close to the description as any movie has gotten so far.
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