#13 - The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Speaking of sequels... this might be the first horror sequel ever made.  If it isn't the first, it's certainly the first one that is still widely remembered today (if anyone knows better, please correct me on this).  It started some sequel cliches that still persist today, most importantly the "unkillable monster" idea, where the villain is dead at the end of the film but the sequel manages to come up with an explanation for why he actually survived (slasher movies are guilty of this the most).  Not that the monster is actually the villain here, but it does seem that this film set that trend.

The first Frankenstein is (in my opinion) the best of the Universal monster movies, but this one comes pretty close to matching the quality of the original.  A charismatic and intelligent villain is introduced in Dr. Pretorius, and of course Boris Karloff puts in another great performance as the monster - this time with dialogue!  He is even more sympathetic here, and is basically the (flawed) hero of the film

This is a highly entertaining film that mostly lives up to it's predecessor.  The intro with Lord Byron and Mary and Percy Shelley is pointless and only serves to pad out the running time of the film, and there are a few leaps in logic required, but overall this is a great film and a deserving sequel to one of the best horror films of all time.