The Great Bingeable Gothic Mystery on Netflix
Every English major knows that in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, actually, it’s the doctor who’s named Frankenstein. In Netflix’s new horror mystery show The Frankenstein Chronicles, actually it’s… no one is named Frankenstein. The Frankenstein Chronicles, joins the recent spate of TV horror shows that have reimagined classic horror works, but instead of being a prequel like Bates Motel or a reboot like Hannibal, The Frankenstein Chronicles stitches together a completely new creature from parts of Shelley’s classic novel (see what I did there?).
The Frankenstein Chronicles stars Sean Bean (Ned Stark from Game of Thrones) as John Marlott, a “river detective” in 19th century London who finds the mutilated corpse of a young girl in the water. Except it isn’t one girl, it’s a corpse composed of body parts from eight different children sewn together. The disturbing surgery catches the eye of the Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel (Tom Ward), who fears the corpse was made to discredit the controversial “Anatomy Act” he is promoting in parliament. The act would both professionalize the medical practice and would allow the surgery schools to use and dissect the corpses of the poor. Marlott is tasked with investigating the murders and, presumably, clear the surgeons of any wrongdoing. Soon Marlott and his new partner Joseph Nightingale (Richie Campbell) are getting sucked into the dark underworld of kid snatchers, murder gangs, and corpse selling.
When Marlott is not crawling through the murky underbelly of London, he is mingling with elements of high society including aristocrats opposed to the Anatomy Act and Mary Shelley (Anna Maxwell Martin) herself, an introduction that is a bit awkward but later becomes pivotal to the plot. Marlott also has problems of his own, including a tragic past and a bad case of Syphilis whose mercury medicine gives him eerie hallucinations. The show is filmed in gloomy Gothic fashion, and the period costumes and set designs are well executed. Sean Bean is in excellent Sean Bean form as detective Marlott, playing the character as half-haggard half-heroic. The surrounding cast is strong too, especially Vanessa Kirby (Princess Margaret on The Crown) as a impoverished noblewoman.
The Frankenstein Chronicles is one of those “Netflix Originals” that originated elsewhere. The first six-episode season aired in 2015 on Britain’s ITV Encore and was originally going to be brought to to the US by A&E, who acquired the show and then seemingly gave up on its prestige drama aspirations. It’s a nice pick-up for Netflix though. While The Frankenstein Chronicles is hardly groundbreaking television, it’s a well made and perfectly bingeable TV show that mixes Gothic mystery with historical drama and just enough scares to keep you up at night.
