Frankenstein

This 2007 BBC TV movie is less an adaptation of Mary Shelley's landmark horror novel than it is a 21st-century revision for our age of stem cell research and cutting-edge genetics. The doctor here is Victoria Frankenstein (Helen McCrory), a research scientist and divorced single mother, whose son is dying. Victoria is trying to grow healthy human organs independent of a human host, but when she introduces her son's DNA into the lab's stem cells in hopes of developing compatible life-saving organs, the experiment grows out of control and a creature escapes. This reworking quotes elements of the original film—an electrical storm lends the experiment an unexpected jolt, the innocent but physically terrifying monster accidentally kills a little girl—but also adds a conspiracy twist involving a biotech company that swoops in and takes over, capturing the creature in order to study it. Unlike in the source novel, this Dr. Frankenstein takes a maternal interest in her creation and she tries to protect it. James Purefoy costars as Frankenstein's ex-husband, while Lindsay Duncan is Professor Jane Pretorius, a twist on a character from Bride of Frankenstein. The production is more clever than compelling, and more interesting for its variations on the original story than as a drama in its own right, but it is also handsomely produced and reasonably intelligent, which is better than most contemporary revisions of the classic tale. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)