Revisited these 2 texts recently (Halloween mood setters) and thought I'd start up a discussion. Supposedly Lovecraft hated his story and it was meant to be a parody of Shelley's work (it sure is "inspired by" at least). There's some major premise and thematic similarities, but both artists approach the subject of "bringing back the dead" from different angles. Besides the differences in time period/locale, and the varying percentages of scifi and horror in each (and the methods used to bring about the experiments), there are a few other distinct differences:
An aside: FRANKENHOOKER (as an adaptation) almost comes off as a comedic bridge between the 2 extremes and mostly leans into the horror realm that Re-Animator dwells in. It's certainly more splatstick like Gordon's adaptation, playing up the gore and creative body horror.
EDIT: Incidentally, Jeffrey Combs Reads H. P. Lovecraft's Herbert West - Re-Animator is a good listen.
- Shelley's story often references the blasphemy of the experiments, comparisons to Adam, the mistake of playing God. Lovecraft's stance is fairly clinical and atheistic, despite having a clear right and wrong message (beyond the obvious murder that takes place). Or does it?
- Frankenstein and West are both obsessed with their work, but seemingly, only Frankenstein feels remorse for his actions and learns a lesson. West jumps the fence and spirals into Mad Doctor mode as the story continues.
- Both authors use the method of a narrator's accounts to tell the story, but Lovecraft utilizes West's colleague (reliable?) to inform the reader of what happens. He's the audience surrogate and moral compass as West goes off the deep end. I found the descriptions of West's experiments much more horrifying as the gruesome details were editorialized for me.
- The creations themselves conjur up different feelings. The monstrous "victims" in the 2 tales are driven by revenge, but the gollum in Frankenstein is more human, more sympathetic, and also motivated by his loneliness. This is expressed mostly due to ability to communicate and the sheer amount of interactions between the characters. Lovecraft's monsters are hungrier, more animalistic, more zombie-ish, more... failed.
- The ending in Re-Animator plays more of a "just desserts" Tales From The Crypt finale instead of the operatic tragedy of Frankenstein's fate.
An aside: FRANKENHOOKER (as an adaptation) almost comes off as a comedic bridge between the 2 extremes and mostly leans into the horror realm that Re-Animator dwells in. It's certainly more splatstick like Gordon's adaptation, playing up the gore and creative body horror.
EDIT: Incidentally, Jeffrey Combs Reads H. P. Lovecraft's Herbert West - Re-Animator is a good listen.
