FRANKENSTEIN (2025)

New streaming on Netflix!
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro.
Written by Guillermo Del Toro, from a book by Mary Shelley.
Check out the trailer here!!

Opening at the North Pole, a ship filled with swarthy swabs find an exhausted and broken man, Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), and the monster relentlessly pursuing him (Jacob Elordi). Believing they’ve left the monster back under the ice after a fierce battle, Victor tells the captain (played by a very Robert Patrick-looking Lars Mikkelsen) the story of how he fell into this frozen predicament while attempting to play god and conquer death.

I’ve found from all my years of reviewing that it is actually quite hard to review a film that is really, really good. I try to point out all of what I loved about the film but most of the time, I find myself repeating that I simply really, really liked it. Usually have something to gripe a bit about, since no one ever makes a perfect film. But aside from a few tidbits, I found Guillermo Del Toro’s interpretation of FRANKENSTEIN to be almost perfect from top to bottom. While it is quite long, the film never lagged for me and crisply adapts Mary Shelley’s novel all the way through. Though I’ve seen an unknowable number of films and read a ton of books about this particular story, Del Toro still manages to surprise me with its solid story structure and succinct narration by Isaac as Victor, this is probably my favorite interpretation of the story to date, beating out my previous favorite take on the material, Hammer’s HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN.

Del Toro has always had a flair for telling extremely watchable tales. He’s probably our last passionate filmmaker we have left since Tarantino is mincing around trying to decide what to do next and Nolan’s stuff always leaves me a bit cold. But you can really tell when Del Toro is passionate about his work. With FRANKENSTEIN, there is t a shot that isn’t composed in a gorgeous or interesting way. There isn’t a wasted shot in this film. Every scene feels like a painting, respecting background detail, monumental decor, deep dark shadows, and attention to fore, middle, and background. This is the type of film that is technically marvelous and should be studied as to how epic filmmaking should look like.

But on top of the cinematography, the film sports a cast to literally die for. Oscar Isaac puts just enough wit and whimsy in his performance to give a hint of humanity, though hides it with a dark and dreadful frown, showing a truly broken man in Victor who is doing everything to fix his problems, yet forgets to give that attention to himself. Isaac, through Del Toro’s direction, highlights the complexity of this role and making it feel less like a racing mad scientist, but a man stunted in emotion from young age and, despite his brilliant mind, never fully u seasons the concept of right and wrong, good and evil, human and monster. Isaac and Del toro communicate this character remarkably.

The monster played by Jacob Elordi is someone I am not familiar with, but he does a solid job portraying the sad soul embodied within the monstrous frame. Again, there are deep themes of life and death, father and son, and the like that he must convey, but he does it well. The same goes for Christoph Waltz who plays Victor’s money man Harlander. It’s a smaller yet key role and Waltz gives it the gravitas the role needs.

If there’s a weak link, I’m sad to say it is Mia Goth’s role as Elizabeth. I get what Del Toro was going for with this role. Goth’s Elizabeth is supposed to share a kinship with the monster as evidenced by her love of insects. She is supposed to understand the complex spot the monster is in while also having some kind of kinship with Victor himself. The problem is that, while Victor and the monster’s relationship feels fully formed, the relationship between Elizabeth and the monster feels less developed. I get it. Goth’s Elizabeth like bugs, but that doesn’t bridge the gap between her marrying Victor’s brother, flirting with Victor, and then succumbing to her own desires seemingly towards the monster. I think it’s just a step too far and the only thing in this story that doesn’t feel properly set up and believable. Her choices during the climax just didn’t make sense to me. I get what Goth and Del Toro were going for but still don’t feel like they achieved it successfully.

That said, FRANKENSTEIN proved to be thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end. Usually, these Netflix movies are over long for over long’s sake, but this one felt like the proper length to convey this complex story. The effects were magnificent. The cinematography left every scene painting worthy. This is epic horror storytelling that doesn’t come along that often and should be appreciated at such. Del Toro proves that he still has what it takes to make extravagant, yet aggressive and potent horror. This is a must see for anyone calling themselves a serious horror fan.