There have been more stories about Frankenstein’s Monster than any horror creation other than Dracula. While there are well over 100 movies with Dracula in some capacity, there are over 50 with the Creature from Mary Shelley’s novel. There were two known silent films about the Creature before Universal Studios used the monster to kick off its Universal Monsters franchise in 1931, with Frankenstein following Dracula. After a series of sequels with the Creature through the 1940s, he returned with Hammer Films in the 1950s, and there have been several other movies since then with different depictions of the legendary horror icon.
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While some of these Frankenstein movies have been pure masterpieces, others have mostly been forgotten, and some have fallen short, hurting the reputation of one of the world’s greatest horror monsters.
7) Best: Frankenstein
The original Frankenstein movie will always deserve its place on the list of the best monster movies of all time. This was the second movie in the Universal Horror series, following Dracula, and those two monsters dominated the studio’s horror output for two decades. James Whale directed the film, with Boris Karloff becoming a horror icon by playing the Creature. The film only told part of the tale from Mary Shelley’s novel, ending with the villagers trying to hunt down and kill the Creature.
While controversial when released for things like the Creature accidentally killing a little girl and Dr. Frankenstein calling himself God, it is tame by today’s standards. However, the film set the template for later stories about the Creature. It remains a harrowing tale of a Creature brought into the world as an innocent creation, and then rejected and destroyed by a society that fears anything different.
6) Terrible: Victor Frankenstein
In 2015, a new Frankenstein, titled Victor Frankenstein, hit theaters, becoming a box-office bomb and a critical failure. This version stars James McAvoy as Victor Frankenstein, while Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe plays his assistant, Igor Straussman. This tale is more about Frankenstein and Igor, with Igor proving a brilliant assistant in his knowledge of using advanced automations, which would come in handy when bringing a creature called Prometheus to life.
This was a fresh take on the story, primarily focusing on Victor and Igor’s friendship and relationship. However, it wasn’t enough as most of the story was uninspired and fell short of the legacy of Frankenstein and his creation. It has a low 26% Rotten Tomatoes score, with critics calling the story hollow and the film a patchwork design by the filmmaker. In the end, it was a mess of a story, despite its obvious talent in front of the camera.
5) Best: Frankenstein
Guillermo del Toro breathed life back into the Frankenstein story with his 2025 release. His tale changes several things about the original story, including having the Creature himself tell his part of the story, and the idea that Victor Frankenstein never had a chance for a happy life, even before the Creature brought all his dreams crumbling down around him.
Jacob Elordi was magnificent as the Creature, and Oscar Isaac was solid as Frankenstein, a man with lofty ambitions to one day conquer death but who finds his dreams are far from his grasp. This Frankenstein movie was also the most beautifully shot of any past film in the franchise, and Alexandre Desplat’s music was perfectly matched to the subject matter. This remains one of the best Frankenstein movies ever made, even more so than the original Universal Horror film.
4) Terrible: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Interestingly enough, the reason Guillermo del Toro wanted to make a Frankenstein movie, aside from his love for the source material, was his disappointment with the 1994 adaptation, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The talent on display here was immense, with Kenneth Branagh directing it, while also starring as Frankenstein, Robert De Niro as the Creature, and all based on a script by Frank Darabont. However, it was Darabont himself who exclaimed how disappointed he was with the film.
Del Toro said his idea was to make something as great as Darabont’s original script, lamenting that it ended up being such a disappointing film. Darabont said it was the movie he wrote, but it lacked the patience and subtlety he added to his script. De Niro was a strange choice for the Creature, and critics panned the film, giving it a 42% Rotten Tomatoes score.
3) Best: Young Frankenstein
Leave it up to Mel Brooks, who previously directed Blazing Saddles, to take a tragic story like Frankenstein and turn it into a broad comedy. Shockingly, that is what happened, and it turned out to be one of his best films. Young Frankenstein might also be the best spoof movie ever created. Gene Wilder (who co-wrote the script with Brooks) plays Victor Frankenstein, while Peter Boyle (Everybody Loves Raymond) plays the Creature.
The movie makes interesting choices, including when the Creature befriends the old man, played by an almost unrecognizable Gene Hackman, and when it features a song-and-dance number to “Puttin’ On the Ritz” with top hats and canes. Critics praised the film, with a high 95% Rotten Tomatoes score, calling it a “silly spoof” with a fantastic performance by Gene Wilder.
2) Terrible: I, Frankenstein
While it was not a good movie by any definition of the word, it should be noted that I, Frankenstein was not based on Mary Shelley’s novel, but instead on the graphic novel by Kevin Grevioux. This is not about Frankenstein at all, but instead about the Creature, named Adam in this movie. He becomes almost a superhero in the modern day as he tries to stop demons and madmen from conquering the world.
Aaron Eckhart plays Adam in the movie, while Bill Nighy is the villain, Naberius, a demon prince. Much like Cowboys & Aliens, the film fails to capture the fun of the comic books on which it is based, and what results is a dull, lackluster fantasy movie with nowhere near enough action to justify the setup. Its Rotten Tomatoes score of 5% is the lowest of almost any Frankenstein-based film in history.
1) Best: Bride of Frankenstein
The best Frankenstein movie ever made and one of the best horror sequels in history is the 1935 release, Bride of Frankenstein. In Mary Shelley’s novel, the Creature hunts down Victor Frankenstein and demands a mate. The original Frankenstein mostly ignored that plot point, and it was brought back in the sequel, with James Whale returning to direct and Boris Karloff back as the Creature.
What resulted was a masterpiece. Henry Frankenstein survived the first movie, and when the Creature finds him, he has him work with a nihilistic Dr. Pretorius to create “The Monster’s Mate” (played by an uncredited Elsa Lanchester). When the Bride rejects the Creature, the story comes full circle, and the Creature allows Henry and Elizabeth to live happily together while bringing the castle down on him, the Bride, and Pretorius. It was a perfect conclusion to the story, and the best Frankenstein story ever told.
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