So many taboo-destroying horror films have come out since 1931 that it’s almost hard to see anymore how thoroughly Frankenstein scared the bejeezus out of people in the 1930s. From its unusual introduction in which a devilishly smirking Edward Van Sloan steps from behind a curtain to offer a “friendly warning” about how the story ahead might “shock” and “horrify”, to the opening scene of Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and his hump-backed assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) robbing a fresh grave in a gloomy country cemetery, to the sight of Boris Karloff’s dead-eyed hulking monster growling and attacking anyone he sees, this was the stuff of nightmares once upon a time. Today, it lives on mostly as a film history lesson, but one worth taking. It’s not scary anymore, but it’s still well-made, via the eccentric eye of James Whale, and there’s scarcely a moment that isn’t iconic. Its shadows stretch out for decades and its dirt still blows in the wind today. Any classic movie lover should spend at least one Halloween evening watching Frankenstein.