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Since James Whale and Universal adapted Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the mad scientist has been one of science fiction cinema’s most enduring characters. An unfortunate side effect of the character’s popularity is that it has lost some complexity over the years. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still great depictions.
The mad scientist is a cautionary tale about the cost of progress and the dangers of attempting to subdue natural forces, such as life and death, sometimes outright evil, sometimes victims of their hubris, and even occasionally sympathetic. On rare occasions, they can also be endearing, like when trying to save the family dog. Here is a list of iconic films about scientists that pushed the boundaries too far.
10 ‘Body Melt’ (1993)
At the end of a quiet, suburban street, a group of people has been ingesting an untested drug with side effects that include (but are not limited to): melting faces, exploding genitals, increased heart rate, taste for human flesh, and insomnia. The first stage is hallucinatory, the second is glandular, and the third is a complete bodily meltdown. Body Melt is Cronenberg-esque horror and pitch-black humor taken to the extreme.
There are a few redeeming qualities to Shaan and her team of scientists. The makers of the drug know that it is harmful. They silence those that speak out against them and will push the unfinished product for profit. But don’t worry; they are eventually overcome by their arrogance and face the same fate as their unfortunate test subjects, blinded by greed and ambition.
9 ‘Overlord’ (2018)
In the aftermath of World War II, the Nazis became synonymous with appalling experimentation on human subjects, and rightfully so. It became more common for the “mad scientist” figure in films to have ties to Nazi Germany. In Overlord, the Germans pull villagers during World War II from the local population in an attempt to (of course) cheat death. Overlord is an overlooked gem in alternate history cinema and an adrenaline-pumping thrill ride from start to finish.
Overlord might be fictitious, but the truth is that minimal embellishment is needed to emphasize the cruelty of Nazi scientists. They did unspeakable things to innocent people in the name of “science.” Ultimately, the Nazi party became a victim of its hubris and consumed itself out of greed and selfishness.
8 ‘Back to the Future’ (1985)
Christopher Lloyd’s portrayal of Emmet “Doc” Brown in the Back to the Future franchise is one of the most well-known portrayals of the mad scientist figure: perpetually messy hair, ever-present lab coat, and pseudoscientific jargon. He is eccentric and single-minded in pursuing time travel and a time machine.
Despite all of this, Doc is still shown to have his humanity intact and ultimately makes the difficult choice to destroy his equipment out of fear of what it might do in the wrong hands. Doc Brown still has a conscious left, and he very clearly exhibits a desire for human connection, even if he doesn’t quite know how to behave within the confines of those relationships. And he sure knows how to close a movie.
7 ‘Frankenweenie’ (2012)
Frankenweenie, directed by Tim Burton, is a stop-motion film about a young Victor Frankenstein attempting to resurrect his dog, Sparky. But where success comes, jealousy will follow, and Victor’s classmates soon beg to know how he pulled off the impossible.
Yes, the mad scientist’s journey typically ends poorly, but director Tim Burton made the formula fun for a change. Borrowing heavily from past mad scientist films, namely Frankenstein, Burton breathes new life into this well-worn story trope. There is even a cameo from Christopher Lee, who played Frankenstein’s Monster in many notorious Hammer horror films.
6 ‘Isolation’ (2005)
Dan, an Irish dairy farmer struggling to keep his operation afloat, agrees to allow a scientist, John, to do genetic testing on his livestock. But his bid to keep the farm afloat turns into a nightmare when the genetic testing does more than boost his cows’ growth rate.
More “horror” than some films on this list, Isolation is a welcome twist on the mad scientist blueprint by trading the sterile lab environment for Dan’s degrading Irish farm. The setting gives this thriller an unexpected layer of tension in scenes like when Ruth Negga’s character, Mary, crawls beneath the barn floorboards with a cattle bolt pistol in search of the mutated monster. Dr. John resorts to extreme violence to cover up his mistakes.
5 ‘Godzilla’ (1954)
Godzilla is perhaps the most recognizable pop culture symbol for unchecked scientific advancement outside of Frankenstein. A manifestation of the fear of nuclear war, Godzilla’s presence in the films is a direct result of scientific testing without heed of consequence, an ancient fear reawakened and strengthened due to an abundance of nuclear activity in the Pacific.
Art often imitates life; while movies are symbolic, they reflect real-life fear and emotions. There is no single scientist in Godzilla; the madness is collective, and the consequences and morality of that madness in the form of the nuclear bomb are still debated today.
4 ‘Metropolis’ (1927)
Set in the distant future, Metropolis has now considered a watershed film in the science fiction genre. Despite its complicated legacy, the film’s influence on the following generations is undeniable. It is now considered one of the greatest films ever made, giving us an enduring mad scientist in the character of Rotwang.
Rotwang’s greatest crime is his steadfast belief that he can conquer the power of death through scientific advancement. Though his motivations appear to be motivated by love initially, his obsession and selfishness darken any positive grounds he may have originally had. In addition, his workspace contains many elements that later became commonplace in the on-screen representation of laboratories. Metropolis is still, in many ways, the gold standard for science fiction cinema.
3 ‘Spider-Man 2’
In 2002, director Sam Raimi brought one of Marvel Comics’ most famous heroes to life. Two years later, with Spider-Man 2, he gave us arguably the most fantastic comic book movie ever created, thanks in no small part to Doctor Otto Octavius, the well-meaning scientist turned tragic villain.
The Spider-Man mythos is littered with scientific experiments with terrible consequences, but Alfred Molina’s portrayal of Doc Ock humanizes these consequences heartbreakingly. Having lost his wife mainly to his pride, Otto channels his pain into one single-minded goal: finish the experiment at all costs, now armed (pun intended) with his sentient set of mechanical appendages. Eventually finding redemption, Molina’s turn as Octavius is not talked about enough in the mad scientist pantheon.
2 Jurassic Park
Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, based on the Michael Chrichton book of the same name, follows a wealthy business person and a team of geneticists as they attempt to populate an island with once-extinct animals and plant life. Much like nuclear fears in the fifties, genetic manipulation was the dominant fear of the new century.
As Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm points out, the scientists of InGen and Jurassic Park became so preoccupied with the possibilities that they never stopped to consider the ramifications of their actions. As Sam Neil’s Dr. Alan Grant states in a later film, some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions.
1 Minority Report
Another common thread in the mad scientist tapestry is the disgruntled or shunned partner. One partner is left in obscurity while the other takes the glory. Such is the case with the so-called “pre-cog program” in Minority Report. Pre-cogs can see the future and are used to prevent crime before it takes place. But it isn’t as foolproof as the public is led to believe.
Dr. Iris Hineman is the “shunned partner,” eventually revealing to Tom Cruise’s Chief Anderton that the pre-cogs are an accident, children of addiction suffering from unimaginable trauma that developed their “gift” as a side effect of treatment. Despite this, the program is pursued, and its history, along with the so-called “minority reports,” instances where the pre-cogs disagree and therefore might exonerate an alleged perpetrator, are kept secret. And Burgess. Hineman’s former partner is fully aware.
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