Good Frankenstein Movies

Good Frankenstein movies are even harder to find than good vampire movies. On the other hand, bad Frankenstein movies are everywhere.

Here's a list of the better Frankenstein films out there.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - It's probably a controversial choice, but my favorite Frankenstein movie is the one that Kenneth Branagh directed, which starred Robert Deniro as the monster. It's the only Frankenstein movie I've ever seen that had a genuinely scary moment in it. The sets are beautiful.
Flesh for Frankenstein - This is also widely known as Andy Warhol's Frankenstein, even though he had nothing to do with the film other than paying to have it made. It's borderline soft core pornography, but it's entertaining in a cheesy, campy way. Flesh for Frankenstein is not at all scary though.
I Was a Teenage Frankenstein - If you thought the unusual use of color versus black and white in Schindler's List was cool, then wait until you see I Was a Teenage Frankenstein. Neither of these movies revolutionized the use of color in a black and white film, but they're both good examples of the technique. For a 1957 horror film, it's surprisingly effective too.
Young Frankenstein - Another Frankenstein movie that's not all scary, but it's possibly one of the most entertaining versions of the story ever filmed. If only Mel Brooks made movies this good still. I think it's on every list of great movie comedies ever written too.
Frankenstein - The original Universal movie of Frankenstein is light years ahead of its contemporary, Dracula. The old-timey laboratory has become a classic film set in its own right, and most mad scientist laboratories since then have borrowed from the look of that set. The phrase, "It's alive!" also originates from this one.
The Bride of Frankenstein - This Universal sequel to the "original" Frankenstein movie is considered even better than the original. Many critics also consider it to be the single best Universal horror movie ever. The Bride of Frankenstein was director James Whale's final horror film.
The Curse of Frankenstein - Hammer's foray into the Frankenstein genre proved that Christopher Lee could play a giant reanimated corpse as well as a vampire nobleman. Rather than a sophisticated predator (Dracula), Lee plays a childlike, confused creature who doesn't understand that he's a monster. And when he realizes, he doesn't understand why he's become a monster.
The Bride - Most people don't like this movie because it's on the dull side, but Sting's performance makes it worth seeing. The sets are beautiful and lush, and the costumes are worth seeing too.

If you want to read more about Frankenstein movies, I've included some suggestions for further reading below: