often be visually identified by his unkempt or generally bad hair, worse manners, white lab-coat Going above and beyond the typical mad scientist call of duty, he specifically conditions the bat to target individuals wearing an after-shave lotion he designed. Dr. Wells attempts to murder again, but of course, is stopped, and dies a proper villain’s death—falling from a cliff while on fire. that the cannibalism expert is the cannibal after all. He’s lovable in his wacky way, with his Einsteinian hair, endearing catchphrases (“Great Scott!”), and amusingly weird verbiages (“rhythmic ceremonial ritual” for “school dance”). Daniel Kaluuya, known for his roles in " Black Mirror " and Get Out, stars in Judas and the Black Messiah. " West also finds lodging with fellow medical student Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott), who happens to have an unfinished basement just waiting to be transformed into a laboratory. Flat-out bribery and threats prove equally ineffective, culminating in Stratton running for his life from an angry mob in his glowing miracle suit because movie scientists, on the whole, lack the common sense that is prerequisite to self-preservation instincts. After … Then make your own custom favorites list and share them with friends! Ciara Wardlow; December 5, 2018; The Ultimate List of Movie Mad Scientists A stroll through movie history with fifty of the maddest scientists to ever hit the big screen. laboratory research, invention, etc.). This category has the following 6 subcategories, out of 6 total. When Stratton actually manages to invent such fabric, however, the textile industry is quick to realize that they are far less thrilled by the idea as it will ultimately destroy their profits, while the many workers in its employ are similarly incensed upon the realization that it will almost certainly cost them their jobs. 5. share. Some mad scientists think they are going to fix the world. From lovable weirdoes to murderous madmen, the following 50 characters embody a representative survey of one of the most enduring movie archetypes: the mad scientist. Albert Einstein races to solve the proof of his theory of general relativity before mathematician David Hilbert. One of the most enduring horror tropes is the mad scientist. Human being who writes about movies and other things. Dr. Josef Heiter (The Human Centipede) It takes a lot to impress the cynical horror community. 10 Sep 2013. This problem helps explain why we have so many mad scientists in movies, but so few mad cooks. Discover, rate and watchlist the newest, best and worst movies including Frankenstein, Overload and The Invisible Man. In an attempt to make the world a safer place through a technological development he instead destroys a major city, which is pretty much Mad Science 101. To be fair to the movies, the mad scientist stereotype far predates not just cinema but the term “scientist,” as the latter is a 19th-century invention while the original archetypal mad scientist, Doctor Faustus, dates back to the 16th-century. This list may not reflect recent changes (). Electrochemist Emma Russell (Elizabeth Shue) is yet another example of how mad scientist does not necessarily equal evil scientist. Dr. Benet manages to craft a “counteractive” for Rukh, but notes that he must take it every day or suffer dire consequences. Professor Julius Kelp from The Nutty Professor. Not the plot, not the dialogue, not the sets, and certainly not the Devil Bat itself, which attacks its victims with a decidedly un-bat-like “Ahhhhhhhhh!” The film begins with an introductory prologue that claims “All Heathville loved Dr. Paul Carruthers,” which is really the only genuine mystery in the film, as Dr. Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) so clearly hates all Heathville. Pages in category "Mad scientist films" The following 200 pages are in this category, out of approximately 215 total. Sure, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) helps, but in spite of his incident with gamma radiation, Dr. And the geeks shall inherit the Earth. Great entertainment. Played by Rudolf Klein-Rogge in Metropolis (1927) Movie Science. Others seek to destroy humanity for one reason or another. Mad Scientist Movies. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.… Back to the Future July 3, 1985. A compilation of some of the greatest mad scientists in cinematic history. Tags:Big ListDavid CronenbergScienceScience Fiction. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Mad_scientist_films&oldid=951403057, Experimental medical treatments in fiction, Template Category TOC via CatAutoTOC on category with 201–300 pages, CatAutoTOC generates standard Category TOC, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 17 April 2020, at 00:11. The plutonium needed to power his DeLorean time machine, for instance, is stolen from Libyan terrorists. Others start off full steam ahead. He uses the serum to paralyze his enemies, so that he can bury them alive. The grouchy wheelchair-bound Dr. Duke (Harry Beresford)? Basically, on a weekend trip to Dr. X’s Long Island estate for some R&R—that is, research and (more) research—the scientists will all participate in an experiment in which they are all hooked up to heart rate monitors and made to watch re-enactments of the murderer’s crimes, which is somehow supposed to force the culprit into confessing. Discover, rate and watchlist the newest, best and worst movies including Frankenstein, Overload and The Invisible Man. In the movies, the mad scientist can often be visually identified by his unkempt or generally bad hair, worse manners, white lab-coat, which is either of the open-front or shoulder-buttoned variety (though a leather smock might substitute on occasion), non-existent social life, glasses, and sex, which is, generally speaking, male. (They are also predominantly white.). Brilliant young chemist Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness) is obsessed with creating an everlasting textile fiber—something that will repel dirt and never wear out. Here follows a list of films with mad scientists in 'em. Dr. Rowitz (Arthur Edmund Carewe) with his villainous scar? The Invisible Man is a wonderful example of the latter. Mad scientists and evil geniuses Victor Frankenstein (novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley; Frankenstein film as "Heinrich Von Frankenstein") – scientist who stole body parts from graves and used them to create an undead monster The chip on Carruthers’ shoulder seems to be largely of his own invention, much like the giant killer bat he sets loose on the town. Ciara Wardlow; December 5, 2018; The Ultimate List of Movie Mad Scientists A stroll through movie history with fifty of the maddest scientists to ever hit the big screen. This gross-out feature relies on extreme body horror and brutal depictions of bodily functions to terrorize audiences. That said, he is absolutely bonkers. Instead of destroying or threatening to destroy the world, she saves it by finding an answer to the energy crisis via the discovery of “cold fusion,” which she promptly submits to the public domain so that all may benefit and none may hoard the profits. Nothing in The Devil Bat is even vaguely convincing. Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest May 26, 1998. PGStars John Carradine and Gale StormDr. Though they vary in size, shape, and ability, they always seem to have that perfect combination to cause trouble: Plenty of hubris A desire to change the world, often for the better (that, of course, goes dramatically wrong) Some serious intelligence and drive A heaping spoonful of insanity (Usually) An awesome/bizarre […] That said, not only is she absent-minded to a degree rarely seen outside of a flat-out satire, but she also keeps her cold fusion reaction formula in her bra on tiny squares of paper that she spends a great deal of time staring at and rearranging as if discovering and balancing a chemical reaction works like a jigsaw puzzle. Throughout the years, audiences have … Dr. Henry Frankenstein / 'Frankenstein' Actor Colin Clive in the classic 1931 version … But boy, is it fun while it lasts. Will it be pervy voyeur Dr. Haines (John Wray)? 7 months ago. Released in the so-called golden age of Hollywood horror that took place in the 1930s (specifically, 1932), the film gets very little attention since it’s considered artistically inferior to films like Frankenstein and Island of Lost Souls and also less influential than the likes of Dracula. Report Save. The Ultimate List of Movie Mad Scientists A stroll through movie history with fifty of the maddest scientists to ever hit the big screen. Anyway, being a scientist, Dr. X decides that the best way to go about finding the murderer is via experiment. Re-Animator boasts one of the greatest mad scientists in cult movie history - Herbert West, her boyfriend's new roommate, played to creepy maniacal perfection by Jeffrey Combs. As mentioned before, movie scientists in general, but mad ones especially, tend to have no luck with love. Young chemist Jack Griffin (Claude Rains) experiments with monocaine, a compound derived from a rare Indian flower, in secret and develops an invisibility serum which he promptly tests on himself, unaware that said compound had previously been shown to drive dogs crazy. Considered by chemists to merely be their primitive precursor, the true alchemists of the Middle Ages were actually, it appears, pursuing a spiritual development technique in which spirit, symbol and physical manifestations were yoked together. They did not have to be bad, as in evil, though admittedly many of them are that, too. West is experimenting with bringing things back to life, starting with their cat... and ultimately moving on to humans. With Fred Gwynne, Bridget Hanley, Pamelyn Ferdin, Reta Shaw. Find every mad scientist horror movie on All Horror below. A crazed scientist invents a serum that induces a catatonic state in whoever it is injected into. This proves to be an even worse plan than one might imagine, as not only does Hill’s head come back to life, but it does so with new telekinetic powers. This problem helps explain why we have so many mad scientists in movies, but so few mad cooks. His research is soon discovered by none other than Dr. Hill, who determines to steal West’s serum and pass it off as his own. What sparks this drastic course of action is largely unclear, though he does tell Dr. Benet shortly before killing him that the Radium X, even with the counter-active, has been slowly corrupting his brain. When these 10 movie mad scientists let their brain power override good sense or decency, it never ends well. Find every mad scientist horror movie on All Horror below. Max Heinrich von Altermann (John Carradine), is a mad scientist working to create a race of living dead warriors. Rukh, concluding mother does know best, proceeds to jump out the nearest window, spontaneously combusting mid-fall—just in case the viewer had any doubts about dead he is. And, as the film is quick to inform, one of them is a murdering cannibal. (previous page) () Mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is described as "mad" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly ambitious, taboo or hubristic nature of their experiments. Somehow, “unorthodox” astronomer Janos Rukh (Boris Karloff) invents a telescope with the power to peer into deep space, which someone also reproduces “vibrations from the past” and leads him to suspect the existence of a previously undiscovered element hiding somewhere in Africa, brought to Earth by an ancient meteor. C.A. Discover, rate and watchlist the newest, best and worst movies including Frankenstein, Overload and The Invisible Man. The Mad Scientists began as a series of short stories in Boys' Life magazine, the official youth magazine of the Boy Scouts of America. The original big-screen mad scientist, Rotwang was the diabolical genius in Fritz Lang's classic 1927 science fiction film Metropolis. In this laboratory, West pursues the development of his life-restoring reanimation reagent which he promptly tests on Cain’s dead cat (without permission or even letting said owner know that the cat died). Director: John H. Auer | Stars: Erich von Stroheim, Harriet Russell, Dwight Frye, Paul Guilfoyle Votes: 213 While most movies have one or maybe two mad scientists, Doctor X has five. An unfortunate oversight, but one that pales in comparison to Griffin testing this invisibility serum on himself without having even the slightest idea of how he might be able to make himself visible again. Re-Animator boasts one of the greatest mad scientists in cult movie history - Herbert West, her boyfriend's new roommate, played to creepy maniacal perfection by Jeffrey Combs. No Small Parts " takes a look at his rise to fame. Our invisible scientist uses his newfound power to stalk and terrorize his ex-girlfriend (Elizabeth Moss). Your experiments are your friends, leave people alone”—Janos and the others head off to Africa, where Rukh eventually finds his Radium X. He uses the serum to paralyze his enemies, so that he can bury them alive. The suspense is on. Then make your own custom favorites list and share them with friends! "Frankenstein" (1931): "The monster" isn't the monster in this classic Universal Horror-era film, based … Mad Scientist Horror Movies. While The Nightmare Before Christmas is largely about subverting expectations, with a friendly skeleton hero and other such lovable creepy characters, as is Tim Burton’s usual shtick, it plays the evil mad scientist trope straight with Dr. Finklestein (William Hickey). They were later collected into two volumes, The Mad Scientists' Club and The New Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club, originally published by … Meanwhile, through secretly experimenting on himself, he has figured out how to turn invisible. Ultimately, he is stopped by his mother, who destroys his supply of counteractive. Poor Barbara has her father brought back from the dead as a slobbering zombie - thanks to … No, not even a little. Forced to relocate his studies to Miskatonic University following the untimely death of his mentor, Dr. Hans Gruber, he promptly clashes with professor and medical researcher Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale)—and practically everybody else he meets, but Dr. Hill most of all. Find every mad scientist horror movie on All Horror below. Rains gives an amazingly dynamic performance as either a disembodied voice or a veritable mummy, depending on the scene, and tyrannizes the townspeople with genuinely infectious glee. Instead of a typical investigation involving questioning, search warrants, and the like, the police hand over the investigation to Dr. Xavier (Lionel Atwill) after tracing the instrument of cannibalism to the medical institute he runs, meaning he is one of the suspects. Some mad scientist movies show a descent into madness. However, exposure to Radium X has not only left him with a fluorescent glow but also liable to kill anything he touches, as discovers upon attempting to pet a dog. Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "mad-scientist" Refine See titles to watch instantly, titles you haven't rated, etc Movies or TV 10 Most Crazed Mad Scientists in Horror Movies. And then comes the moment of truth: has Stratton learned anything from his experience? The “why” is more obscure—a voice-over monologue indicates that Carruthers somehow feels he’s been screwed over by the town’s elite, but this seems distinctly counterintuitive considering he has these thoughts shortly after receiving a surprise bonus check from these individuals. In 2008, Empire magazine even ranked him as the 20th greatest film character of all time. Through the use of “synthetic flesh,” Wells has been constructing an artificial limb and horrific flesh-mask to commit his crimes—as the film reveals in a genuinely disturbing transformation scene in which he slathers himself with the substance, which looks like either mousse or perhaps canned tuna, while muttering “synthetic flesh” repeatedly. Just no. Igor September 19, 2008. Mad Scientist Horror Movies. Rukh’s estranged wife leaves him and the other scientists start investigating Radium X themselves, which he sees as infringement on his intellectual property, but the scientist plays it cool for a surprisingly long time before suddenly faking his own death and proceeding to go on a killing spree. As mentioned before, movie scientists in general, but mad ones especially, tend to have no luck with love. Looking like a cross between Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, Finkelstein terrorizes his creation, Sally (Catherine O’Hara), in a manner equal parts overbearing father and controlling husband, which of course makes the whole thing even creepier. A crazed scientist invents a serum that induces a catatonic state in whoever it is injected into. Rotwang. West responds by decapitating him with a shovel. And yet another faction simply do not care. Particularly by comparison. Mad, as mentioned, does not always equal evil, and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) is a prime example. Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "mad-scientist" Refine See titles to watch instantly, titles you haven't rated, etc Movies or TV https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/arts/best-movie-mad-scientists-all-time Realizing the flaw in the loathed creation, the mob proceeds to tear off pieces of Stratton’s suit until he’s left standing in his underwear. Tweet Share Post Bookmark. West is experimenting with bringing things back to life, starting with their cat... and ultimately moving on to humans. Cue him gifting after-shave lotion to all his enemies, who are all dispatched in short order by an enormous killer bat—and yet, it still takes the whole movie for the townspeople to solve the “mystery.” Carruthers, of course, gets killed by his own Devil-Bat (after being doused in his own after-shave lotion), because 9 times out of 10 that’s how this whole mad scientist story plays out. Oops. The 10 Greatest Movie Mad Scientists of All Time Bill Gibron. 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