Opening in theaters October 17 and streaming on Netflix November 7 is ‘Frankenstein,’ written for the screen and directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Felix Kammerer, David Bradley, Charles Dance, and Lars Mikkelsen.
QxzVykwNDsq2keHKXNG5A5Related Article: Guillermo del Toro Plans to Reunite with Actor Oscar Isaac for ‘Fury’
Initial Thoughts
Guillermo del Toro has been waiting to adapt ‘Frankenstein’ to the screen his entire life. Themes, ideas, and imagery from Mary Shelley’s classic tale of Gothic horror – one of the genre’s seminal texts – run through many of Del Toro’s previous 12 films, and while ‘Frankenstein’ has been on his bucket list of movies to make, he’s never had the opportunity until now.
And once offered it, Del Toro seized the chance with both hands to make an extraordinary, gorgeous, deeply moving version of the tale that may end up being the definitive screen version in a long line of previous adaptations. His ‘Frankenstein’ is not slavishly faithful to the book – and in fact Del Toro brings a very personal stamp to the narrative that changes its meaning in deeply profound ways – but it’s loyal to the spirit and tone of the story, bringing out its many layers through an incredible cast and a sumptuous production that immerses the viewer fully in the world of Victor Frankenstein and his doomed creation.
Story and Direction
The story follows the outline of Shelley’s novel, beginning with a prelude in which the crew of a ship trapped in Arctic ice comes upon a badly injured, dying man who identifies himself as Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac). The ship is soon besieged by a towering, humanoid, seemingly indestructible figure who is after Frankenstein. From there, both parties tell their side of the tale to the ship’s captain (Lars Mikkelsen).
It’s a tale told many times, with which we’re all broadly familiar: Frankenstein, devastated as a boy by the death of his mother and emotionally wounded by his cold, distant father (Charles Dance), sets out to find a way to bring back life to the dead. Ostracized by the medical community, he finds backing from a wealthy arms dealer named Heinrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz) and his own younger brother William (Felix Kammerer), who now controls the family estate in the wake of their father’s passing. But less enthused is William’s alluring, enigmatic fiancée — and Harlander’s niece — Elizabeth (Mia Goth), who suspects that Victor is tampering with aspects of nature that he dares not try to control.
But Victor presses forward, and eventually succeeds at creating a nameless being (Jacob Elordi) out of the parts of many different dead men. This is where Del Toro not so much diverges from the novel but brings one of its many underlying themes to the forefront: the nature of the relationship between a parent and a child. The creature is seemingly unable to learn words, only plaintively repeating his creator’s name over and over. Like his father before him, Victor becomes impatient and actively abusive toward what he fails to see as his own son. Only Elizabeth sees the true nature of the creature, and her compassion at least gives it a glimpse of a better humanity.
Victor ultimately cannot abide what he sees as a failure and attempts to destroy his creation, which escapes into the countryside and – thanks to the kindness of a blind man who cannot see his new friend’s hideous visage – learns to read, speak, think, and finally try to figure out its place in what is largely a cold, uncaring world. When he seeks out his creator again, only for Victor to rebuff the creature’s request for a mate to allay his intense loneliness, the creature is consumed with rage, setting out on a rampage to destroy everything in his maker’s life while making Victor watch.
Other versions of the story have touched on the idea that the creature is a misunderstood and misguided child, but Del Toro makes this the focus of his adaptation, turning it into the most emotional ‘Frankenstein’ to ever hit the screen. Despite his monstrous appearance and often insensate rage – a fury which also makes this the goriest ‘Frankenstein’ we’ve ever watched – the creature is a sympathetic figure throughout. Unloved by his father and rejected by those who see only his appearance, Frankenstein’s creation is a walking metaphor for so many lonely, abused, outcast people in the world today.
The movie, which runs nearly two and a half hours, begins somewhat slowly; at times one may wonder if Del Toro is overcomplicating some of the table-setting of the first act (it took us a while to figure out whether or not, for example, Harlander actually had a purpose in the story). But it picks up momentum and achieves an operatic grandeur as we get to the creation sequence and everything after that. Once the creature – played to perfection by an unrecognizable Elordi in mostly prosthetic makeup – arrives, the dominant conflict of the film takes it to soaring new heights of melodrama. This isn’t a horror movie, per se, despite the Gothic settings, intense production design, and rivers of blood and viscera that run through it; this is a tragedy, and it’s almost impossible to remain unmoved by the creature, his plight, and the endgame between what both creator and creation finally recognize as father and son.
Cast and Performances
Del Toro couldn’t have cast his three leads better, but we have to begin with Elordi as the creature. Strongly inspired by Shelley’s own description, the creature looks like a walking anatomy drawing gone haywire, with stitching and mismatched slabs of flesh crisscrossing his tall, lean, meat-colored body. He’s not human, but he has the spark of humanity in him. Elordi is nothing less than riveting every time he’s onscreen, conveying the creature’s pain, loneliness, anger, and emotional need with great power even through the makeup. It’s a brilliant performance that deserves to become as iconic as that of Boris Karloff.
Oscar Isaac brings his customary fire and passion to the role of Victor, a man so tormented by the lack of loving parents in his life that he realizes far too late that he’s become one himself and must adjust accordingly. A bundle of ego, raw energy, and intellectual superiority, you can’t quite hate Isaac’s Victor even as you recognize his fatal flaws.
Elizabeth, meanwhile, has been expanded from the book, no longer Victor’s devoted fiancée but a progressive woman who can see the beauty in nature – even when it’s not immediately apparent – and has an almost ethereal sense of the boundaries between life and death. Mia Goth, after her earthier turns in the ‘X’ trilogy and ‘Infinity Pool,’ looks like she stepped out of a 19th century painting and provides a sole, empathetic voice of wisdom (Goth also briefly plays Victor’s mother in a neat dual performance).
Final Thoughts
On every level, this is a superb film. Costumes, production design, and score are all top-notch. The visual effects, particularly those involving the creature, are nearly as impressive – only two scenes involving clearly CG wolves mar the film in that respect. The world of the movie is immersive, with Del Toro using his customary painterly colors to give this period epic a mix of the grotesque and the glorious.
But it’s the story, its themes, the actors, and the rising tide of emotional power that make this ‘Frankenstein’ unlike any that has come before. Del Toro has said that he’s wanted to make his version of Mary Shelley’s literary landmark for 30 years. He’s not only done the book justice and then some, but he’s created his own masterwork that – like a loving parent – he should be proud to send out into the world.
‘Frankenstein’ receives a score of 95 out of 100.
What is the plot of ‘Frankenstein’?
A brilliant but egotistical scientist (Oscar Isaac) brings a creature (Jacob Elordi) to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
Who is in the cast of ‘Frankenstein’?
- Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein
- Jacob Elordi as the Creature
- Mia Goth as Elizabeth Lavenza/Claire Frankenstein
- Felix Kammerer as William Frankenstein
- Lars Mikkelsen as Captain Anderson
- Christoph Waltz as Heinrich Harlander
- Charles Dance as Leopold Frankenstein
- David Bradley as Blind Man
- Christian Convery as young Victor
- Ralph Ineson as Professor Krempe
List of Movies Similar to ‘Frankenstein’:
- ‘The Bride of Frankenstein‘ (1935)
- ‘Son of Frankenstein‘ (1939)
- ‘Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein‘ (1948)
- ‘Young Frankenstein‘ (1974)
- ‘The Bride‘ (1985)
- ‘Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein‘ (1994)
- ‘The Devil’s Backbone‘ (2001)
- ‘Hellboy‘ (2004)
- ‘Pan’s Labyrinth‘ (2007)
- ‘Frankenweenie‘ (2012)
- ‘I, Frankenstein‘ (2014)
- ‘Victor Frankenstein‘ (2015)
- ‘Crimson Peak‘ (2015)
- ‘The Shape of Water‘ (2017)
- ‘Nightmare Alley‘ (2021)
- ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio‘ (2022)
- ‘Frankenstein‘ (2025)
