YMMV / Son of Frankenstein

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Ygor coughs so violently that he spits on Neumuller and claims because of a bone stuck in his throat. Is he being genuine or is he using an excuse to harass one or the original eight men who sentenced him to be hung?
  • Were the villages cheering Wolf because of what he did, showing that they had finally accepted him? Or were they faking it just to get rid of the nut so they could stop worrying about the Frankenstein family making monsters?
• Even Better Sequel: Incredibly, in spite of coming off Frankenstein (1931) (almost universally considered one of the classics) and Bride of Frankenstein (which is itself considered the quintessential Even Better Sequel by critics), Son of Frankenstein is seen even further as the best of the bunch. With a much richer sense of grandiosity, refined art direction and atmosphere, and some of the best Universal performances to date (including Bela Lugosi's spellbinding performance as Ygor), this film is seen as the finest of the classic Frankenstein films.
• He Really Can Act: Critics offered heavy praise for Bela Lugosi's performance as Ygor, with some even calling it the best of his entire career.
• Heartwarming Moments: Inspector Krogh has NO reason to like Wolf Frankenstein, considering the Monster ripped off his arm, crippling him and destroying his dream of becoming a soldier. Yet he is the only person in the village to offer to help Wolf, first politely suggesting he leave for his own safety and then making it clear if Wolf ever needs his help he will come. And when Wolf does? Krogh is there.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Peter is awestruck at thinking Krogh is a general. His actor Donnie Dunagan quit acting and joined the Marines at 18, where he became the youngest drill instructor in the Corps' history.
  • Wolf stating that he is annoyed everyone refers to the monster as "Frankenstein"; nowadays many fans of the film bemoan this very fact
  • Wolf asking Ygor if the Monster is his brother, considering that in recent years the idea that the monster sees Dr. Frankenstein as his father has become a common thing.
• Ho Yay: The monster and Ygor.
• I Am Not Shazam: The film has a early scene with Wolf complaining about how the Monster has become synonymous with his family name.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • The Monster perches himself on the edge of this when he decides to murder the Baron's son by hurling him into a sulfur pit (though he thankfully relents). Ygor starts out well on the other side of the horizon, having spent years manipulating the Monster into doing his dirty work.
  • In the backstory, the Monster crippled Krogh by ripping his arm out of its socket. When he was a small boy.
• Narm: The backgrounds... aren't great, with a lot of scenes taking place in rooms with solid light walls with the occasional clutter thrown in to remind you where the characters are. While it's not that big a problem usually, scenes in the Frankenstein home can be hard to take seriously when the luxury manor consists of empty monochrome hallways and very shoddy-looking wooden stairways that wouldn't look out of place in a mine. That said, this was done on purpose to give the film a more dream-like quality.
• Retroactive Recognition: You may recognize Peter's voice as Bambi.
• Tear Jerker: The way the Monster breaks down and howls in utter grief upon finding the dead body of Ygor will break your heart. And the scene then takes a hard turn right into Nightmare Fuel when, upon finding Wolf's son's coloring book, the Monster tears it between his fingers with a look of slowly dawning maniacal glee on his face.

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