This film is currently unavailable
Frankenstein
The gothic horror that ushered in a wave of cinematic terror, starring Boris Karloff as the reconstructed monster with a human soul.
Director: James Whale
Overview
Boris Karloffβs iconic performance as the shambling yet sensitive monster, cobbled together from dead bodies by deranged scientist Henry Frankenstein, is one of cinemaβs most influential performances, in the gothic horror film that inspired the first big wave of cinematic horror.
But the first feature-length adaptation of Mary Shelleyβs isnβt just historically significant, it remains an intelligent and affecting film about the limits of science, blind prejudice and what it means to be human. Mary Shelleyβs original novel set the template for both Gothic fiction and science fiction (professors playing god), emphasising the storyβs significance to the development of two genres that BFI has recently celebrated with major seasons.
Related
The Woman in Black The Woman in Black
Horror 2012 95 mins Director: James Watkins
A young solicitor, administering the will of a recently dead old lady, is drawn into a sinister web of events centring on her abandoned house.
Tiger Stripes Tiger Stripes
Horror 2023 95 mins Director: Amanda Nell Eu
Nothing is quite as scary as puberty in this exuberant feminist pre-teen body horror from first time Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu.
Late Night with the Devil Late Night with the Devil
Horror 2023 93 mins Director: Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes
Like Ghostwatch reimagined as a cheesy 1970s chat show, this deviously clever found-footage horror has scares to spare.
She Will She Will
Thriller 2021 96 mins Director: Charlotte Colbert
In Charlotte Colbertβs strikingly gothic film, an ageing actor recovering from a mastectomy taps into a mysterious power at a remote Scottish retreat.
Out of Darkness Out of Darkness
Horror 2024 87 mins Director: Andrew Cumming
Bringing a whole new meaning to the term βperiod filmβ, Andrew Cummingβs Palaeolithic horror movie is a true original.
Talk to Me Talk to Me
Horror 2022 95 mins Director: Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou
Australian filmmaking brothers Danny and Michael Philippouβs feature film debut nods to their background as viral-video sensations.
Dead of Night Dead of Night
Anthology 1945 99 mins Director: Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer
A group of guests assembled at a country house swap uncanny and supernatural stories in this classic Ealing chiller from 1945.
Dracula (1958) Dracula (1958)
Horror 1958 82 mins Director: Terence Fisher
Hammer's 1958 version of Stoker's Gothic novel was the most exciting to date, boasting lavish costumes and sets, a vibrant score and red, red blood.
The Mummy The Mummy
Horror 1959 88 mins Director: Terence Fisher
Classic Hammer horror of a reanimated ancient Egyptian mummy, who returns from his tomb to seek vengeance on its desecrators.
The Limehouse Golem The Limehouse Golem
Crime 2017 109 mins Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Bill Nighy plays the arch detective investigating a series of grisly murders around the music halls of Victorian London, in this pungent Gothic mystery.
Ghost Stories Ghost Stories
Horror 2018 98 mins Director: Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman
Being scared has never been this much fun, as Martin Freeman, Andy Nyman and Paul Whitehouse bring the chilling London stage play to the screen.
The Little Stranger The Little Stranger
Horror 2018 111 mins Director: Lenny Abrahamson
Lenny Abrahamson (Room, Frank) directs this Gothic mystery, with Domhnall Gleeson as a doctor helping the heir of a haunted stately home (Ruth Wilson).
The Ghoul The Ghoul
Horror 1933 80 mins Director: T. Hayes Hunter
The occupants of an old house are menaced by a dead - and very angry - Egyptologist.
The Man Who Changed His Mind The Man Who Changed His Mind
Horror 1936 63 mins Director: Robert Stevenson
Boris Karloff stars as Dr. Laurence, a scientist who has devised a way to put one personβs mind into anotherβs body.
Special People Special People
Comedy 2008 74 mins Director: Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthamiβs gripping, pitch-black satire.
The Ballymurphy Precedent The Ballymurphy Precedent
Documentary 2018 108 mins Director: Callum Macrae
John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.
Utopia Utopia
Documentary 2013 111 mins Director: John Pilger and Alan Lowery
John Pilger's portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture is also an investigation into a suppressed colonial past, and rapacious present.