93. Frankenstein (Whale, 1931)

The first few entries on the list were very modern, so now we take a large jump backward in time to one of the great classic horror films.

Frankenstein the novel is often pointed to as the first science fiction novel, and it remains one of the all-time greats. A man plays god, creates life, and is horrified of his own creation. The world rejects the creature, labeling it a monster, so it sees no recourse but to become a monster in recourse as well as appearance. It's poignant, introspective, horrific and brilliant.

It has been adapted many times into film. This is the most famous and the earliest surviving film. But Frankenstein adaptations run the gamut from Dawley's lost silent 1910 short to the Mel Brooks 1974 comedy Young Frankenstein to Beattie's 2014 I, Frankenstein (which looks terrible, to judge from the trailers). An upcoming film stars James McAvoy as Frankenstein. This I have some hope for.

This version has most cemented itself in our culture, and when most people picture Frankenstein's Monster, they are picturing Boris Karloff. And Colin Clive's mad scientist would be equally embedded in our culture as the vision of a mad scientist (though I don't know why they called him Henry). However, for the act of creation itself, it is the sequel Bride of Frankenstein that would give us the iconic "It's Alive!" moment.

Bride of Frankenstein is in many ways the superior film, offering more iconic moments, capturing more of the poignance of the book, and giving us a variety of wacky science fiction ideas. The first film stays more grounded and keeps the focus on fairly straightforward horror.

As I've said before, I decided for this list to give strong preference toward originality and most of what is great about Bride can be found here. This is not the only example we will see where an original film was chosen over its slightly superior sequel or remake. We have already seen one example, in Spider-Man, which was outdone by the excellent Spider-Man 2.

And Frankenstein the film has just enough of the book in it to qualify as great science fiction. Creation in all its glory and all its horror.

On the subject of 1930's horror movies directed by James Whale...

92. The Invisible Man (Whale, 1933)

We are continuing to discuss the origins of science fiction literature. We gave Shelley the nod for possibly inventing the genre. But in truth she thought she was writing horror. Much of the tradition of science fiction is founded on the shoulders of two 19th century writers who were more aware of their own genre, yet perhaps disagreed on what stories should be in this genre. The modern genre has found room for both their styles.

One of these two writes is H.G. Wells, who used science fiction conceits as a springboard to showcase questions of societal or philosophical concerns, and paid little mind to whether the science on display made any sense.

For example, with his famous Invisible Man novel, he gave some token attempt to explain how the formula worked, but mostly the reader was supposed to just accept that it did and see what happened next. This novel is brilliant brought to life by James Whale and Claude Raines.

What happens when a man becomes invisible? Will society accept him? Is he too dangerous? What are the side effects of the experiment?

In this case, madness seemed to follow. And the Invisible Man develops a plot for world domination. There is some tragedy unique to the film, in that the scientist was a basically good man with friends and family, who was driven insane, a victim of his own curiosity. This stands in contrast with the brilliant but amoral scientist of Well's novel.

There would be several sequels and remakes and variations on the idea, notably Paul Verhoeven's Hollow Man, but none quite compare to the original.

Well, at least he listed it, Mr.-The-Seventh-Victim-Isn't-Horror-It's-Musical-Comedy.

(Agreed about Things to Come. What a film!)

I don't recall ever having that debate with you

What's thought provoking about the film, as well as it's most endearing quality, is that everyone in the film (including the guy who introduces the film) gets the moral wrong. In the film version, the monster isn't some creature destined to wreck evil upon the world because it was the byproduct of a man trying to play God. Karloff very purposefully portrayed the creature like an infant -- completely naive and innocent, capable of beauty and kindness, and simply reacting to the cruelty and violence it is ultimately shown.

It ends up being a film that appeals to the heart while warning the brain about intolerance, judgment, and holier than thou aspersions, rather than Shelley's cautionary tale about man tampering with nature.

91. Rain without Thunder (Bennett, 1993)

In general, I am a big fan of the subgenre of science fiction which focuses on a new (and usually questionable law). We will see a few such examples later, and there are a few others which didn't quite make the list, such as Kurt Wimmer's 2002 action film Equilibrium, where emotion is outlawed. Rain Without Thunder presents a rather grounded and plausible version of a new law, imagining a near future where abortion is outlawed.

The film takes the form of a faux documentary focusing on the arrest of a girl and her mother for the crime of abortion.

Unlike say outlawing emotion, this subject remains somewhat controversial in our society. The movie is basically a debate between people on all sides of the contentious issue. While generally a smart and educational film, its failing is its heavy-handedness and one-sidedness. It lets what could be an exploration of an issue devolve into a soapbox to state a particular view.

It nonetheless remains engaging, and ends with an unexpected and poignant twist.