Director Guillermo del Toro brings to life the legendary tale of Victor Frankenstein and his creation, The Creature, in a gothic setting and explores his purpose of existence in Netflix’s “Frankenstein”, starring Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac, and Mia Goth. The film is an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel of the same name.
To me, I am always excited to see a project led by Guillermo del Toro. From his iconic feature films such as “Pan’s Labyrinth”, “Hellboy”, and “Pacific Rim” to his phenomenal animated series “Trollhunters”, you can say that I am a big fan of his work. And after watching the trailer of “Frankenstein”, expectations were high and they were met.
“Frankenstein” is truly unique because it takes the classic spin on Frankenstein’s monster and changes the audience’s most common assumption of who the real monster is in the film. The film is broken into two parts where we are following the life of who we thought was the protagonist: Victor Frankenstein. While we initially feel empathy towards him, the second half of the film gives us the perspective of its Creature and flips our perception of its creator.
The writing and directing of this film beautifully balanced both sides of the story by fleshing out the characters’ development and purpose. I loved how throughout the film, Jacob Elordi’s character was referred to as the Creature which helped associate the notion that the real monster is not him but rather Victor due to his greed and selfishness. The Creature becomes a representation of how we see the unknown as a terrifying force at first. We later learn the real monsters are not the ones that we see but rather the ones we don’t. This is also very apparent in a scene where the Creature seeks refuge with an old man who is visually impaired.
The practical effects and character design of the Creature is definitely one of the standouts of this film. Victor’s discovery of the human anatomy and its function was displayed through the practical effects so visually appealing and horrifying at the same time. The Creature’s design was also unique and fits the tone of the movie by making the creature more humanistic.
Although this film does a great job with its storytelling by splitting into two parts, it can be daunting for the regular audience as it has a runtime of 2 hours and 29 minutes, which you can definitely feel at times. Additionally, the side characters felt as though their only purpose was to push forward the two main characters’ development.
All in all, to me, “Frankenstein” can be lengthy but that does not stop it from being one of my favorite films of 2025 due to its gothic visuals, engaging storytelling, great character development, and fantastic acting performances.
