The only thing that could ever warrant another direct adaptation of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is Guillermo del Toro being behind the wheel. Frankenstein has been a classic story in cinema since James Whale’s 1931 “Frankenstein” and 1935 “Bride of Frankenstein.” Because of how iconic and historic those films are, skepticism swirled around a new version.
Expectations were set high for “Frankenstein.” Del Toro’s take tells modern audiences the classic story through the lens of one of the modern masters of fantastical filmmaking and succeeds at it greatly.
The film would have been good in theaters, but it had a very limited theatrical release as a Netflix production. It was grand in scale, and the interior sets were absolutely gorgeous. It was reminiscent of the original films with lofty ceilings and the intricate curves of Victorian-era architecture, but bigger and exaggerated in an otherworldly fashion. Del Toro’s visual style was complementary to the story and not overpowering, and the imagery of the film was some of the most unique and pleasing of 2025 so far.
As for the delivery, the timing was a little off and dragged on, but that could be attributed to its inspiration from the book. It had a more novel-esque pace that audiences might not be completely attuned to. Del Toro’s film was much more book-based, rather than seeming like an adaptation of the James Whale films and the Boris Karloff monster, which is so iconic that it’s impressive he was able to avoid any likeness to it while still having a believable and amazingly designed creature.
Jacob Elordi’s performance was the strongest, and he was great as the creature. The design of the character was amazing; he looked barely anything like himself and did well making the character subtly his own without taking away from the source – it was the most captivating part of the film because he was more vocal and understandably human than previously portrayed in cinema.
The second chapter of the film, following the creature’s perspective, is immensely more interesting than the first half. Oscar Isaac is a great talent, but he wasn’t as interesting as expected while playing Victor Frankenstein. He played the role well, but didn’t seem to be as much of a focus in the story as the creature was.
I really liked Mia Goth, and the character of Elizabeth Harlander was dynamic and interesting.The romantic mortality of her character was on the nose, and Goth is the perfect actor for portraying one of the most significant characters in the Gothic novel.
She also played Frankenstein’s mother, Claire Frankenstein. Goth does so well playing multiple roles in films. She did the same in “X,” playing both the old lady and the young protagonist.
This film was more contemplative and less adventure-driven than del Toro’s other works. The contemplative approach is great with this, though – it’s what makes the film succeed at the gothic style. The dark and brooding genre has made a huge comeback recently, with remakes of films like “Nosferatu” and books like “Wuthering Heights.” This film does it the best out of the new wave of gothic films so far. It was classic, but understandable and fresh.
Del Toro understands how to use monsters and creatures to make thematic points, and this seems almost like his dream film: the creature feature. Whale’s films are so significant to cinema, and the book is so significant to literature, but this film stands alone as a creative masterpiece that perfectly meshes the original story with del Toro’s signature style.
