Word: evil
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...part of the new prissiness. But evil has traditionally been an equal-opportunity employer. Where would Barbara Stanwyck and the other ladies of the noir have been if their only subtext had been female victimization? Every once in a while a girl has to stop brooding over gender injustice, start thinking about sexual revenge, and slip into her thigh-highs and stiletto heels to lure a few dopes to destruction...
...after her birth. The monster's wrath stems from the refusal of the man he calls his father to acknowledge his offspring, or to provide for his spiritual comfort by creating a companion like him. The monster who grows under these circumstances has great capacities both for good and evil, presumably like all children at their birth. He is well-educated and seeks human companionship, but his rejection by the human race makes it the object of his wrath and vengence...
...reanimated, will produce. Yet Karloff is at his most terrifying when he appears to be gentle, as when he plays in pure joy with the child he will soon kill. Shelley realized this, and both her monster and Branagh's display their capacity for good, before striking mercilessly into evil...
Whomever Silver intends to be evil, imagery of death and dark forces bear heavily on the set and the plot as well. Emma sees Arthur in a dream as the devil with horns and cloven feet. But Todd emerges the more likely contender, with an irrepressibly destructive influence and inhuman discourse which portray him as some eternal diabolic force. Enigmatically, he informs his family, "I think I died long ago... I'll be here long after you're gone..." while erecting the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex he mysteriously digs up in the back yard of the family mansion...
Thematically, Todd is the hero and no matter how evil he may be, Silver insists we show him some sympathy. For one thing. Todd is not directly responsible for anyone's death. He merely induces them to realize their self-destructive impulses. More importantly, he represents victimhood fighting back and settling scores with those who foiled his hopes for a happy existence...