‘Frankenstein’ is a 2025 sci-fi/horror/drama film directed by Guillermo del Toro and adapted from Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel of the same name. The film stars Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Christoph Waltz. This was apparently one of del Toro’s passion projects and something that he’s aspired to do since getting his start in film as a director and that makes so much sense to me. When you think of Gothic tales being told in the modern day, your mind immediately goes to Guillermo del Toro. Pan’s Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, Nightmare Alley, the man is familiar with the territory and knows how to make a compelling horror film wrapped up in ball gowns and castle like corridors, and really this film was no different.
I’ll start right off the bat by saying the sets were absolutely beautiful! Again, pretty common for a del Toro project, but Victor’s mad scientist lab was just drenched in dark, Gothic aesthetic and even the landscape shots with the boat on the ice up in the North Pole were gorgeous in their own way and really set you in the environment. Just a quick sidenote, but apparently that boat was actually a real set piece that they built specifically for this project, and I just found that crazy. Something that I always like and appreciate del Toro for is his love and admiration for practical effects and set pieces and this film is chock full of that stuff. Big plus for me as a horror nerd and a nerd for practical effects and that was probably my favorite thing about this film, just the way it looked and the attention to detail with the set design. If nothing else, I think this movie is worth watching just to see all that stuff. The gore and levels of violence we’re brought to throughout this film is certainly the highest I’ve ever seen in a Frankenstein story so I would say it’s certainly the most brutal take on the story. Aside from that, I think all the lead actors did an excellent job with what they were given as well, especially Jacob Elordi as ‘The Creature’, it was a much different take on the creature than we’re used to in most ‘Frankenstein’ film adaptations, but he nailed this take on the character and was able to deliver a lot more dialogue and range than we’re used to getting from the creature. That won’t be for everyone I already know, I’m not even saying he’s my favorite version of Frankenstein’s Monster brought to film, but it was interesting and made it easier to be bought into his story and compelled by his actions.
The dialogue was also quite pretty and poetic, most of the main characters delivered at least a line or 2 that really made you think on it or that I could easily see being quoted on social media by someone trying to be deep and mysterious nowadays. The only thing about that is that some of the deeper dialogue and character transformations/changes of heart throughout the movie felt a tad bit random and unearned. The movie is 2 and a half hours long, so that’s already a bit on the long side for a Frankenstein story, but the hope would be that at least with a longer run time you could flesh more stuff out and make the climax feel more earned, and I’m just not sure that happened here. At least for me. Del Toro took the story in new and different directions and made it feel like his own for sure. From the set pieces and overall design to the way characters behaved and their motivations behind those behaviors, but a lot of the climax to the movie and the wrap up of characters individual stories just came off feeling a bit rushed and unearned to me, especially for a 2-and-a-half-hour film. That isn’t me saying I disliked this though, that’s just my main point to nitpick. If you’re a Guillermo del Toro fan, then you’re almost guaranteed to enjoy this movie. It’s beautifully shot and dripping in his Gothic aesthetic so it’s just fun to look at and del Toro nerds will definitely have a heyday with the visual aspects, and the story itself is compelling, but Frankenstein always is. It is one of the oldest, most compelling tragedies of all time, and one that makes you think about your own and others humanity after it. It’s honestly a timeless life lesson kind of story that will always hold weight no matter the time or era it’s read in and that’s incredibly rare and impressive. Kudos to Mary Shelley, your dark mind mixed with opium created one of the most classic, remade and retold stories in human history…and people try to say drugs are ALL bad. Psssshhhh!
Overall though, I’d say if you have any interest in seeing this movie it’s definitely worth the time and the viewing at least once to make your own decisions. Like I said, it’s beautifully shot and I’ll always commend excellent set pieces, especially practical ones and del Toro is modernly one of the best at that. If you’re even slightly a fan or supporter of his then you need to see this one regardless. It was a career goal of his to bring his take on this story to life and the parallels between Victor bringing The Creature to life and del Toro bringing this project to life are interesting to think about. Personally, the film itself is a bit on the long side and pieces of it did feel unearned or not as fleshed out and explained as they should be so that could be frustrating to some, but the story itself is still emotional and depthful and worthwhile. It’s also available on Netflix so you don’t have to rush out to the theater to see this one if you’re not really a person that likes to do that.
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