Halloween playlist #12 - Son Of Frankenstein (1939)

I was raised on Universal's classic monster movies. They've been a Halloween tradition for as long as I can remember, but somehow this movie never fully made it into my family's rotation. I only saw it once or twice many years ago, so this viewing was very close to being the first time I'd ever seen it.

It's almost impossible to watch this movie at this point due to the massive impact and spot-on parody of Young Frankenstein, which takes more from this third entry in the Frankenstein series than any of the previous films. But even though I find it hard to take this movie too seriously, it doesn't seem like it was ever intended to be seen as anything serious. It's fun, well-shot, and the overall style and atmosphere outweigh anything negative that can be said about it. This movie also features one of my favorite performances by Bela Lugosi. This movie is slightly bloated at times, but it's never boring, and still holds up pretty well -- even if it's clearly outdone by its predecessors.

7.5/10