In the “Scooby-Doo” cartoons, a mad scientist with an evil laugh yells, “He is alive!” and a green zombie with neck bolts comes groaning to life.

 Don’t expect the same when the curtain opens Oct. 19 on DVC’s production of “Frankenstein.”

 Director Ed Trujillo and the cast of this play are on a crusade to set the record straight: Frankenstein is the creator – not the creature – and he does not stagger about the stage with his hands held out.

“So many people are not familiar with the original, Mary Shelley’s story, and that alone is a reason to watch the play,” said actor Kerel Rennacker, who plays Victor Frankenstein.

Unlike Boris Karloff’s bigscreen 1930s version, DVC’s production will be an elaborate mix of animalistic styling (of the creature), distorted sets, haunting music and moral themes.

With Halloween just around the corner, this play is all about suspense and the nature of a classic 1920s horror, where fear grows from the mood and not from a serial killer on the loose with a chainsaw.

 “I want the audience to understand the horror of what happens when you attempt to create life – when you play God,” Trujillo said. “I want to scare them. I want them to be frightened. Not so much by the physicality, but by the ideas and the content.”

The story follows a man, Victor Frankenstein, who discovers the “secret of life” and creates a creature from body parts of dead humans.

He regrets his actions after seeing the horror he has created, and the creature, suffering from his ugliness, seeks revenge on his creator.

 “I’m going to bring a degree of charm that’s interesting to watch and also a little hard to turn away from in some of the darker moments,” Rennacker said of his character.

Inspired by the German Expressionism film, “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari,” one of the first horror films in the 1920s, Trujillo plans to incorporate distortion and angles into the abstract set of “Frankenstein.”

“The horror isn’t just physical; it’s psychological,” Trujillo said. “My approach was to look inside Frankenstein’s mind and try to express that visual.”

And just like the set, the music will be distorted, with “a lot of nightmare-kinds of sounds,” he said.

As a special treat, the play will feature a dance sequence between the creature and his bride.

“This will come across as creepy yet seductive kind of dance,” said Shelby Grunseth, who plays the creature’s mate.

All in all, “Frankenstein” will bring the audience to the very brink of horror and fascination, empathy and revulsion.

The play runs through Nov. 9. Performances are at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday in the Performing Arts Center.

Tickets are $12. Contact Marsha Fulke at the Box Office at 925-685-1230, ext. 2357, for more information.