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Enda80
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
108 Posts |
 Posted - 05/30/2009 : 4:12:17 PM
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http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/23760/t/did---Victoria-Edwardian-era-monsters---lab-Dracula---promi.html
I read a while ago the novel Chimera by Stephen Gallagher, about a monster created in a laboratory to serve as a subject for experiments. I tried to think of other, prominent monsters created via laboratory experiments who debuted in more recent years. I thought of some monster stories including monsters created in labs, but I doubt anyone would find them especially prominent.
Anyway, it occurred to me that of well-known monsters of the Victorian/Edwardian era, while Dracula explicitly gained his power from sorcery, other monsters did not. In fact, despite that gothic feel of these monsters, most of them came as a result of laboratory work.
Frankenstein's Monster: assembled in a lab
Invisible Man: result of lab work
Mr. Hyde: result of lab work
(The Phantom of the Opera had no paranormal abilities, so he fits into neither category.)
Looking at some later prominent horror characters from almost one hundred years later:
Freddy Krueger: explicitly a magical entity
Pinhead: explicitly a magicial entity
Jason Voorhees: explicitly a magical entity from parts 6-11 (part 9 even features the Necronomicon Ex Mortis, from the Evil Dead saga)
Chucky: explicitly a magical entity
Michael Myers, in the theatrical version of Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, has an origin that seems laboratory based. Other than that, what prominent series horror characters from the 1970's to the 1980's came from the laboratory?
I did try to think of more contemporary monsters to come from the laboratory. The Swamp Thing came to mind, but he works as a benevolent monster as does the Heisei Gamera (also, in very Deviant seeming idea, Gamera's creation came at the hands of an ancient civilization, not a modern one, in the Heisei era.) The Jurassic Park dinosaurs also occurred to me. The Watchers monsters (Dean Koontz) came to mind, but those went straight to video largely.
DonM435 wrote: I guess that back then [Victorian Era/Edwardian Era] it was still possible to create life or split your personality in your basement laboratory. Today you'd need millions in government grants.
Ah yes, as El Santo put it (yes, Mr. Ashlin does not always get things right, but he seems to have the nail on the head): "Gothic science fiction. What I'm talking about is that great mass of movies that were released particularly during the first half of the decade, which seemed to be set in a sort of alternate reality 19th century, where amateur scientists who have never conceived of the internal combustion engine somehow leapfrog entire generations of technology to produce submarines, airships, moon rockets, invisibility serums, and the like. Most if not all of these movies were based on the writings of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, and with good reason. Both authors were products of that era, and usually set their stories in their own time".
http://www.1000misspentho...sn-z/timemachine1960.htm
I think the Swamp Thing typifies or illustrates this trend, from amateur scientists to government or corporate projects. The Alex Olsen Swamp Thing from House of Secrets#92, his story took place (hinted at based on the clothing in the original story, explicitly stated in Saga of the Swamp Thing#33) in 1905. Alex Olsen did not work for the government, but as a private researcher (so far as we have seen), definitely in the same vein as the H.G. Wells/Jules Verne style gentleman scholar. However, the Alec Holland Swamp Thing came out in Swamp Thing#1 and he worked for the government. (Of course, he ripped off the Man-Thing/Ted Sallis by doing so, but I have touched on that elsewhere).
Darkman kind of strikes as sort of a return to the gentleman scholar trope, though the movie novelization makes it seem that he had access to funding from local universities in Michigan. The Fly also kind of fits into the gentleman scholar trope.
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