BLOOD WORK: HALLOWEEN HORROR DAYS ~ DAY 1: FRANKENSTEIN (1910)

Thomas Edison was the man who invented motion picture technology and the man who was primarily responsible for starting the motion picture industry. The first movies made came out around 1888 and Edison quickly realized that there was a lot of money to be made. He began churning out hundreds of movies in the following years until selling off his movie studios in 1918. The first movies ran anywhere from 90 minutes down to only 2 or 3 minutes in length. People would pay 5 cents and be privy to any number of motion pictures of various lengths and genres. These were called the Nickelodeons.

Artist Robb Bihun's rendition of the iconic of Edison's Frankenstein

It is believed that 90 percent or more of these early films have been lost forever. One such lost film was Edison's 1910 production of Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN. It is impossible to determine what was the very first horror film ever made. Since so few of the original films still exist we'll never know for sure. But what we can be reasonably sure of is that the 1910 version of Frankenstein is perhaps the earliest surviving horror film in existence and the first film adaptation of Mary Shelley's immortal horror tale. So let's suffice it to say that this movie is where the horror movie genre began and this is the very first horror film.

THE PLOT

Frankenstein outside the chamber where the monster is being born

Doctor Victor Frankenstein, through scientific and perhaps arcane means, creates a new kind of creature within a chamber in his laboratory. Through a small window on the chamber door he watches as the fires within give birth to something living and breathing. At first a skeleton assembles followed by organs, muscles, and tissue. And finally skin. The creature is so horrific and monstrous that even Frankenstein himself can't bear the sight of it. The creature leaves and over time Frankenstein believes that night to have been one horrible delusion. Then the creature resurfaces. It visits him again on his wedding night for one final fateful confrontation.

THE GOOD

The Creation.

Let's talk a little horror movie history first. This film was all but forgotten until 1960 when images of the Frankenstein Monster appeared at an Edison Museum. Later the horror film & monster movie magazines of the time ran articles and pictures of this supposedly lost monster movie that nobody had ever seen. Then in the 1980's clips of the film turned up in documentaries. It was soon discovered that a film collector in Milwaukee had a copy, the only known print of the film in existence. Just the mere fact that we have this movie today is amazing. It also makes me wonder what other forgotten horror movie gems may still be out there.

The comic book adaptation by Chris Yambar and Robb Bihun

The most remarkable aspect of this movie is the creation sequence. In every film rendition of Frankenstein the creation scene is one of the most important set pieces. Nowadays with the special effects at our disposal we have the means to make something truly striking and imaginative. But that's nothing special anymore because it's so common place. What's really amazing is seeing something like that in a movie 105 years old. Sure it's hokey by today's standards but you have to watch it in the context of the time it was made. You actually see the body forming and coming together piece by piece. You see the skeleton build up and the flesh and tissue grow around it. Amid all the various Frankenstein films this creation sequence is unique and inspiring.

Then there's the monster. An interesting and curious design to say the least. Elongated fingers and a seemingly inhuman wingspan, the monster comes across as a mix of a hobo, a corpse, and a man with Marfan Syndrome (the medical condition resulting in unnaturally long bone structure). The costume and make-up for the monster was left up to the actor and it's a good first movie design for the monster. A memorable look made even more remarkable given the time period.

THE BAD

Comic book cover

Edison's Frankenstein is only 13 minutes long, a typical length for a film from that time. Today we are spoiled with films being at minimum 70 minutes and longer. This movie moves fast and doesn't give the audience enough content to really absorb. That and the film quality is rough in some areas, obscuring a lot of the detail, but that is to be expected given the age of the film. And then there's the score which, like most silent horror films, doesn't even come close to being scary. Again, that was usual for the time. But one of the great and fun things about silent horror films is setting them to a modern scary soundtrack.

The biggest complaint and perhaps the most glaring aspect of the film is the ending. Given the film's 13 minute runtime there is a lot of the story cut out, obviously. But the ending is completely changed. Frankenstein discovers the monster is merely a manifestation of an evil mind. And when his mind is cured of evil by his wife the monster simply vanishes into the mirror. Hmm... a little anti-climactic, yes? Truthfully though I have nothing to complain about this film. I am just grateful it still exists.

THE VERDICT

If you are like me and enjoy learning of the histories surrounding your favorite subjects then give this movie a watch. After all it will only take you 13 minutes. Just seeing where horror films got their start, seeing the special effects they were able to achieve 105 years ago, and seeing how far we've come is worth it. It gives me a greater appreciation of the genre, not just for the movies we now have and owe to this movie, but a great respect for the early horror films and what those filmmakers achieved with so little.