A lot of people say (And even the movie does at the beginning!) the moral of Frankenstein is for man not to meddle in the realm of the Almighty. (Remember the old staple quote from the classic Golden Age horror movies: “He meddled in things man should leave alone”? {It’s actually from The Invisible Man originally, but I think it found its way into lots more after that, what with screenwriters having to be paid and all.}) I think that is ostensibly what’s intended to be the moral of most Frankenstein movies too, but when you actually watch them, it’s clear that it’s not really the moral after all.
No, the real moral of Frankenstein and all its remakes is this: Don’t ever work hard on anything or it will come back and bite you in the ass later.
Seriously, what happens to every Dr. Frankenstein? His creation kills people he loves and beats him up and stuff, or otherwise gets him in trouble with the authorities, etc. No, this ain’t God’s doing; it’s the fruits of his labors! Seriously, if he had stayed home and watched football on TV while eating Cheetos all day, or married his fiancée like his father wanted and just done whatever she demanded of him, he would have been fine: just like any other guy. But no; he had to accomplish stuff! And what did it get him? A big headache all around! No, I contend, quite seriously, that if you really watch the movie Frankenstein (or any of its remakes) with an open mind, the moral that really comes to mind is that you shouldn’t work hard to accomplish anything or it will come back and punish you severely for having done it. If it had been a TV show, rather than a movie, it would have been the perfect moral for keeping people on the couch watching the tube! But as it was, it was in the days before television, so they had to simply hope for people to just slack off and come watch movies all day. And it must have worked, too, because based on attendance and profits, Frankenstein has been called the Star Wars of its day!
