by Jefferson Robbins Back in September, I published the Kindle ebook The Curse of Frankenstein: A Dissection–a scene-by-scene analytical love letter to a film that shaped me, and discloses hidden depths the more one looks at it.
Primarily, I examined the 1957 movie through a queer theory lens, assessing the monster-spawning relationship between Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) and his sometime enabler Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart). But director Terence Fisher's seemingly staid visual sense, which became Hammer's house style for roughly the next decade, yields treasures of its own. This video essay, just in time for Halloween, assesses one of them:
The Kindle version of The Curse of Frankenstein: A Dissection–and a print version may soon be on the way–goes for $2.99. I've opted to donate 50 cents of every download to The Family Acceptance Project, a San Francisco State University research program that studies the dynamics of young lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender people coming out to their families, and offers
tools to ease the transition. I found it fitting, in light of the book project: Halloween is fun, but no one should be forced to wear a mask all their lives.
Thanks to Bill Chambers for the opportunity to show my essay in this space, and to Walter Chaw for setting the example through his outstanding Miracle Mile. Follow Jefferson Robbins on Twitter
