‘Victor Frankenstein’ Trailer: An Igor-y Reboot of the Horror Classic
It’s alive! Again! For the, what, twentieth time?
Yes, Dr. Victor Frankenstein and his monster are back for yet another cinematic interpretation. Stand aside Boris Karloff! Show’s over, Robert De Niro! Here come James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe, playing Frankenstein and his assistant Igor respectively. Despite the film’s title, it’s Radcliffe’s character who’s the focal point in Victor Frankenstein. Instead of a lurching hunchback, he looks like ... Harry Potter with hair extensions. And instead of that simpering “Yes mast-uh!” accent, he’s Frankenstein’s partner and the film explores the perils of working with a guy who brings corpses back to life. (The laundry bills must be insane.)
Victor Frankenstein was directed by Paul McGuigan, he of features like Lucky Number Slevin and Push and TV shows like Scandal, Smash, and several acclaimed episodes of the BBC Sherlock series with Benedict Cumberbatch. And the script is by Max Landis, he of features like Chronicle and American Ultra, and YouTube shows like the one where Max Landis explains the death of Superman. Landis loves to take familiar genre ideas and twist them in unfamiliar ways, so it makes sense that he’d reconsider the classic Mary Shelley novel from Igor’s perspective, making him a moody and fully realized human being. It’s only a matter of time before Brooklyn hipsters get wind of this and start naming their children Igor. You’ll see; in five years you’ll hear someone at the grocery store saying “Igor! Put down those chocolate covered bananas!” and you’ll realize I was right.
Victor Frankenstein opens in theaters on November 25. Here’s the U.K. trailer, should you need a version with more Radcliffe voiceover.