Igor, the horror servant stock character who became a universally known cultural image through Fritz in the 1931 film Frankenstein and as exaggerated in Young Frankenstein’s “Eye-Gor,” has most often been depicted as a twisted-postured (not technically hunchbacked), strange little man with a permanently-pained expression. Daniel Radcliffe, however, has often — post-Harry Potter — been depicted as an international sex symbol. Alas, the question surely arose on hearing that he’d been cast as Igor: would this be a performance dictated by prostheses? Would Radcliffe be making one of those physical transformations that woo our most basic, superficial moviegoing tendencies by way of befuddlement? The just-released first trailer has some answers.
No, it does not seem like he’ll be playing Igor as you’ve known him in the past — his posture appears to be just fine, and he speaks…kind of like Daniel Radcliffe. The monster, likewise, looks to be completely reimagined. /Film emphasizes how this is a retelling of Mary Shelley’s classic (in which the Igor character who’s become inseparable from the narrative simply didn’t exist) that focuses on a “bromance” between Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy) and Igor, and the official description likewise suggests as much:
Radical scientist Victor Frankenstein (McAvoy) and his equally brilliant protégé Igor Strausman (Radcliffe) share a noble vision of aiding humanity through their groundbreaking research into immortality. But Victor’s experiments go too far, and his obsession has horrifying consequences. Only Igor can bring his friend back from the brink of madness and save him from his monstrous creation.
Watch the trailer:
And here’s the poster:
