Halloween season
simply isn’t Halloween season without a regular dose of classic Universal horror (1923-1963). Every day this October, I’ll be giving you a steady IV drip of it by counting down Psychobabble’s 31 Favorite Universal
Horrors!
#16. Son of
Frankenstein (1939- dir. Roland V. Lee)
Universal’s second Frankenstein sequel, and its final
Frankenfilm with Karloff as the Monster, is too long by 30 minutes and that
little kid is a menace, but boy oh boy, is Bela Lugosi ever a blast to watch as
Ygor! Tired of the franchise and an increasingly limited role to play, Karloff
seems to cede the film to Lugosi, who is only too happy to steal the show as
the diabolical survivor of a botched hanging. Ygor uses the Monster as a
pliable tool of revenge in a sheepskin vest. Lionel Atwill is also terrific as
the police inspector with a chip on his shoulder and splinters in his arm.
