¡Esta vivo! Queer Monstrosity in Mexico’s First Frankenstein Adaptation, El Monstruo Resucitado

This thesis traces the queer legacy of the Frankenstein myth from James Whale’s filmic adaptations, Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, to Mexico’s first adaptation of the myth, El Monstruo Resucitado (1953). Chano Urueta’s El Monstruo Resucitado adapted the Frankenstein legend not from Mary Shelley’s source text but from Whale’s films, which themselves are infused with the queer sensibilities of a homosexual director. This new Mexican Frankenstein myth created a Monster that both reflects the culture of the Hollywood context from which it is adapted and responds to its own unique Mexican backdrop. Discussed only superficially in monster studies scholarship, El Monstruo Resucitado has rarely been examined for its contributions to Mexican horror cinema or queer horror studies as a whole. This thesis explores El Monstruo Resucitado's utility as a queer parable by working through José Esteban Muñoz’s theory of Disidentifications, positioning the film as a cultural object valuable to queer identity formation for minoritarian audiences in Mexico. By doing so, this thesis aims to broaden the conversation surrounding the role of the monster in culture and highlight Mexican monster horror like El Monstruo Resucitado as significant to the global tradition of the monster movie.