Welcome back, ghouls and ghosts, to the third annual installment of SpookyJawn! It’s our horror takeover of MovieJawn, and this year we are wall to wall with monsters!

by Tori Potenza, Staff Writer

You really are the very monster I created, aren't you? 
–Lee Woo-jin, Oldboy (2003)

You have created a monster, and it will destroy you! 
–Doctor Waldman, Frankenstein (1931) 

When you get past the initial shock of a film like Oldboy and pull back its layers, there are various influences and themes running through the story. When I first saw Oldboy over 10 years ago, I was not the cinephile I am today and was simply revolted by it. I put some distance between myself and this movie and began exploring the world of cinema, and more Park Chan-wook films. When I began to hold him up as one of my favorite filmmakers I knew it was time to revisit Oldboy with a fresh perspective. By the time the re-release was announced, I was such a fan I knew I could not miss the opportunity to see it on the big screen. While many of us have gotten used to the convenience of watching films at home, there is still a magic to seeing something on the big screen and experience alone can allow you to see it in a wholly new light. 

Neon’s 4k theatrical re-release of Oldboy has given many like myself the chance to see it for the first time, or see it on the big screen for the first time. It is a strange classic in so much as it is a very hard movie to recommend to people. Its reveal is so upsetting and disturbing that it is not necessarily designed for the casual film fan. Even still, it has been hailed as one of the best movies ever made by critics. Considering its content, it is amazing how warmly Oldboy was received upon its release. If we flash back to 1931, Frankenstein was torn apart by censorship boards. By today's standards, it is far less controversial, which shows just what a big difference 72 years can make. 

In 1931, however, James Whale’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel did push the boundaries of what was considered appropriate for audiences, much as Oldboy pushes the bounds of what content audiences can enjoy. Shelley’s novel was met with mixed reception when she published it in 1818, both for its content and for the fact that it was written by a woman. The idea that a man could play God and unleash a monster onto the world was blasphemous and met with more controversy than a film full of incestual themes and content. Luckily, Shelley’s novel and Whale’s adaptation were eventually embraced and held up as the classics they are, spurring on sequels, remakes, and inspiring various stories with the same themes. Even though on the surface it might not seem like these stories have much common thread they both center on madmen and the monsters they create.When you take the time to dissect them and pull them apart–much like Victor pulled apart human remains to create his monster–you will find that these stories share some fascinating meditations around creation, humanity, and revenge. 

Mad Scientists & Their God Complex

In many ways this piece feels like my own Frankenstein’s monster, as I pull apart and reconstruct these films to create some new monstrous irreligious perspective. Yet my recent theatrical viewing of Oldboy made this idea blossom and would not let me shake it until I figuratively robbed some graves and tinkered in my laboratory, bringing this work to life. Ultimately with this viewing I was struck by how many references there were to monsters. Whale’s film even makes a short appearance as Oh Dae-su watches it in his room. While Oldboy’s antagonist, Woo-jin, is not a scientist in the traditional sense of the word, he does set out on a grand experiment with Oh Dae-su, one that does not seem so different from that which Victor Frankenstein conducts in his laboratory. They both seek to create a new life, one that they hope will live up to their high expectations. In this way it seems that Woo-jin is even more successful than Victor. Though their modes and motivations differ,  both men create monsters that become the means of their destruction. 

Lee Woo-jin, as far as we know, does not possess the scientific background as Victor, nor does he have a secret laboratory with beakers, test tubes, or bunsen burners. But he does have the drive, money, and intellectual curiosity that is essential in scientific study. He uses this power to capture Oh Dae-su and imprison him in solitary confinement for 15 years. As our criminal justice system has so kindly shown us, long periods of isolation alone can change a person entirely. That alone would not be enough to secure Woo-jin’s goals. He also utilizes hypnotic suggestions and powerful drugs to further control Oh Dae-su’s environment and actions. Like a puppeteer controlling their puppet. Even after releasing Oh Dae-su, Woo-jin has a plan that is meticulously put together. As they say in the film “How's life in a bigger prison, Dae-su?”. While Woo-jin granted him technical freedom he is still a puppet controlled by invisible strings. 

When Victor set out to reanimate a dead corpse and bring his new man into the world, he did not have nearly as much planned as Wo-jin about what happened after he made his creature. Perhaps one of the worst fictional fathers in history, when he brings his creation into the world and realizes it is not what he wanted he rejects him completely. Because his monster does not live up to his expectation all he does is put as much distance between them as he can so he can wallow in self pity over what he did. Unlike Victor Woo-jin stays with his creation and sees their reunion through till its violent end. While Victor is the one who screams “now I know what it feels like to BE God!” Woo-jin's ability to set people out on their predetermined destiny is godlike in a very similar way. Victor’s cowardice and decision to keep his creation a secret is what ultimately puts those he cares for at risk and as the bodies pile up he continues to reject his monster. Yet in both cases these scientists are targeted as their creations attempt to enact bloody revenge. 

The Monsters Speak

For those who did not read Shelley’s novel, it differs greatly from the 1931 Universal adaptation, and even more so in the various sequels they make. One of the most essential differences is that the monster becomes a lumbering giant with little ability to communicate, in an attempt to distance him further from any semblance of humanity. In the book their cat and mouse game extends over a much longer time period and within that time the creature learns to speak and read, and by the end is just as eloquent as his creator. Similarly Oh Dae-su has a television which helps him stay tethered to what is happening in the world. It becomes his friend, teacher, and even lover at times. Both isolated either by their grotesque appearance or imprisonment they find ways to learn and grow while plotting revenge. 

While we do not get to know what kind of like the creature, or my accurately his various parts, lived before they were put together by Victor we do know at least a little about his brain. In the 1931 film Victor tries to secure a brain for his creation and has his assistant Fritz steal one. Fritz accidentally drops the “normal” brain he was meant to get and therefore Victor ends up with a “corrupted” brain that belonged to a criminal. This moment is seen as a way to perhaps explain why Victor failed and how his creation became “corrupted” but interestingly enough Oh Dae-su has a similar origin. When Oldboy opens we meet Oh Dae-su before his imprisonment. It is his daughter's birthday but he is not there because he has been arrested for public drunkeness. We get a sense of how distasteful and disgraceful his life was from this moment and when he spends part of his imprisonment trying to jot down every person he harmed who may have placed him in his prison. He manages to fill several notebooks full of these musings so it is clear that Oh Dae-su is no good upstanding citizen. 

Upon his release and the monster’s escape from Victor in the film, we see them try to adjust to the real world. Oh Dae-su acts like a wild animal consuming strange foods, having violent interactions, and even assaults Mi-do, a young sushi chef who tries to help him. On the other hand the monster causes panic and destruction but is far less aware of what they are doing. He is childlike and eager to learn but does not recognize how his strength and appearance scare those that come into contact with him. In one of its most controversial scenes that was censored from many of the original releases he plays with a sweet child named Maria but not understanding the game throws her into the lake drowning her. While the two lumber around leaving chaos in their midst they do both long for human connection. The monster seeks out anyone who will show him a semblance of kindness and Oh Dae-su longs to find his daughter while also growing closer to and beginning a relationship with Mi-do. Even in the book and Bride of Frankenstein we see how the monster longs for a companion and if he cannot find one, he needs Victor to make one for him. 

Ultimately, the two go after their “creators” and try to seek revenge. Oh Dae-su tries to figure out who incarcerated him and why while the monster tries to hurt the creator who rejected him and refused to make him a mate. Yet as Oh Dae-su puts it “Revenge is good for your health, but pain will find you again”. This ends up holding true for both of them. Oh Dae-su discovers Woo-jin and remembers the role he played in Woo-jin’s sister’s suicide. Woo-jin had a romantic relationship with his sister and believed the two of them were in love, so he gives Oh Dae-su the opportunity to know how he feels. Through his perfectly orchestrated plan he sets Oh Dae-su up to meet Mi-Do who turns out to be Oh Dae-su’s long lost daughter. Even after Woo-jin kills himself he has to live on with the knowledge that he is in love with and has had sex with his own daughter, a fresh unbearable pain he has to hold. 

On the other hand in the book the monster goes after Victor’s family and after Victor refuses to make him a mate he kills Victor’s fiancée on their wedding night. This act finally sets Victor on his own vengeance quest as he chases his creation across the world, finally ending up in the Arctic. At this point Victor is such a frail shell of a man the journey eventually kills him before he is able to find the creature. On the other hand the creature, who finally gets to live to see his absent father perish, thus fulfilling his quest. But he realizes there is no joy or peace to be found. Instead he is haunted by the terrible things he has done and those he killed in the name of vengeance, truly making him the monster that Victor believed him to be all along. While the monster makes the decision to kill himself and say goodbye to his painful existence, Oh Dae-su ultimately makes the more cowardly choice. In the end, he tracks down the hypnotist that Woo-jin hired and has her erase his memories so he no longer needs to remember that Mi-do is his daughter and the two can find some happiness. As he says, “Even though I'm no more than a monster - don't I, too, have the right to live?” This moment is strikingly similar to the monster’s plea in the book when he asked Victor to make him a mate so he can continue living his life in peace with a companion. Perhaps if Victor’s monster had the option to erase the memories of his wrongdoing he would take the chance, but in their own ways these two both decide to make the choice that will bring the least harm. 

Revenge, Ambition, and the Monsters They Make 

I dream of gods and monsters and of the man who knew I was both. 

In the end themes around love, acceptance, and revenge permeate these two tales. Many revenge tales connect with the idea of revenge turning people into monsters as characters usually have to kill off some piece of themselves in order to go forth on their quest. What we can take away from both Oldboy and Frankenstien is the question of who is truly the monster? These mad scientists do terrible things in the name of love, ambition, and revenge and therefore kill off some of their humanity in the process. Woo-jin and Oh Dae-su both make choices to be monsters at various times throughout the film. While Woo-jin’s motivation is revenge, he does accept and even care for Oh Dae-su in his own way. He keeps track of him and watches over him and Mi-do to make sure that they can all meet their predestined fate. He shares more care for a man he is trying to destroy than Victor does for the being he created. By the end of the novel Frankenstien Victor accepts his own wrongdoing, as he dies telling the ship captain to seek "happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition." But it is too late to save anyone. At that point he has lost all he loved because his ambition drove him to create a being that he could not love unconditionally like a parent should.

All four of these men make different choices that lead them to their terrible fate and at one time or another make them monsters in the process. Oh Dae-su harmed many before his transformation and many after so perhaps he was always a monster and simply turned into a different kind of monster by the end. The monster, who has only felt heartache throughout his existence acts out as a monster like a child throwing a tantrum hoping their parent will simply notice them. Yet he maintains humility and in the movie a childlike wonder that makes it hard to completely fault him. Hurt people hurt people and Victor created a cycle of harm similar to that of abusive families. Woo-jin made questionable choices and engaged in a taboo relationship with his sister but in the end wanted what Oh Dae-su ends up with, just to live and find peace with his love even though it is wrong. Victor is the cause of many of his own problems but as the book shares, the death of his mother was a driving factor in his decision to try and extend human life past death. 

These monsters all have bits of humanity in them and cannot see past their trauma to pull themselves from the depths of monsterhood. Which is why these stories can be so chilling, we have the capacity to be monsters and whether it be a laboratory experiment, a quest for vengeance, or some other traumatic event there is always the possibility that something will push us to that point. Even if this piece is a Frankenstein’s monster in its own way, an abomination to film criticism, or just some strange musings of a mad critic, we can see the various strange ways films speak to us. With all their complexities they can be distilled down to a handful of simple ideas and themes that speak to the greater overarching human experience and the struggle to stave off monsterhood. And perhaps you need to be a little mad in order to create.