Directed by Guillermo del Toro and based on the original novel by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein follows the story of a brilliant but egotistical scientist, named Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), who brings a monstrous creature to life in a daring experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
Guillermo del Toro has always been a masterful director who has brought many unique stories to life, with most of his work characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, gothicism, and horror that is often blended together through visual and narrative beauty. This made him the perfect person to make an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, given that the novel involves a majority of the elements and themes that he has used in his own films over the years, and therefore making this film an immediate must watch for most of his fans, including myself.
After getting the chance to see it on the big screen, I can say that Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is not only one of the best films he has made in his filmography, but it is hands down the best adaptation of Frankenstein we have ever had. It is a poetically tragic and beautifully haunting reimagining of a timeless tale that is crafted to perfection on every level and establishes itself as the best film version of this tale that was created with a deep respect and understanding for the source material.
The film features a relatively small cast but they deliver phenomenal performances that are given Shakespearean level of devotion by each of the cast members. Oscar Isaac delivers a commanding and powerful performance as the titular Victor Frankenstein, bringing forth the numerous qualities of the character from the novel in perfect fashion. Victor is portrayed to be a brilliant but arrogant scientist of an archaic era with an ambitious goal of discovering the key to evading death through unnatural means. While his motives initially come from a place of sympathy, we gradually begin to see Victor spiral into madness, cruelty, and inhumanity once he finishes creating the creature, becoming a true monster that loses any kind sympathy or respect, and it is all masterfully given to us by Oscar’s intense performance from start to end.
There was certainly no doubt that Oscar Isaac was going to dominate the role of Victor Frankenstein but the performance that truly stood out to me the most and hit me on many emotional levels was Jacob Elordi as the creature. For a long time I never really understood the hype around Jacob Elordi as an actor as I felt that his performances in the past were fine at best but never really stood out to me compared to most of the other talent in this film with their past work. His performance in this film changed my opinion of him entirely. Jacob Elordi gives one of the most beautiful and tragic monster performances I have seen in recent years, displaying masterful physicality that evokes deep empathy for the creature and emotional vulnerability that truly hits you every time he is on screen. The creature may have come into being through unnatural means but the creature is certainly not a mindless monster at all. Instead he is an intelligent human being that yearns to be loved and to be seen by a world that sadly would never accept him.
While wearing heavy amounts of incredible makeup and prosthetics, Elordi is able to capture all emotional aspects of the character perfectly, especially when it comes to rage that we see in his piercing eyes and hear with his unearthly sounding roar that would make one feel terrified of him, especially when he is shown to be capable of killing people with great ease and merciless brutality. However, I am glad that this adaptation establishes that the creature doesn’t kill out of malice but strictly in self defense, showing that he isn’t as heartless as Victor is.
While Oscar and Jacob certainly dominate the film, the supporting performances from Felix Kammerer, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, David Bradley, Lars Mikkelsen and Charles Dance are equally as compelling in their respective roles. Felix Kammerer plays the role of William Frankenstein, Victor’s younger brother, who plays a different role in this adaptation compared to the novel, acting not only in service to the story as part of Victor’s life but acting as a more pure and innocent reflection of Victor. He shows the kind of person Victor could have been had he been raised properly at a young age by their father, played wonderfully by Charles Dance, instead of being frequently abused. Felix Kammerer brings forth such pure innocence in his performance that you can’t help but feel bad for him as he has to put up with a deranged older brother, whom you can tell he secretly fears for his insane ambitions.
Mia Goth plays Lady Elizabeth Harlander, William Frankenstein’s fiancée, for whom Victor has feelings for, who also has a much different role compared to the book as she plays a more significant part of Victor and the creature’s story. Mia wonderfully portrays Elizabeth as a very unique woman of her time that sees beauty in the grotesque and ugliness in the elegant, as shown by her sympathy for the creature and her revulsion of Victor. She injects a beautiful form of gothic romance into the film that feels genuine and sweet compared to Victor’s cruel treatment towards the creature, showing that Victor is undeserving of love given his lack of humanity.
Henrich Harlander, Elizabeth’s maternal uncle and a wealthy arms manufacturer who funds Victor’s experiments, is not a character from the original novel but is an excellent addition to the story that is played brilliantly by the wickedly talented Christoph Waltz. Henrich acts as sort of the Igor in this adaptation, serving as not only the assistant to Victor’s mad science but also as someone who deeply believes in Victor’s cause and is willing to do anything to help him complete it. Waltz is able to bring some surprisingly solid humor into this film that brings light amounts of levity to the mostly dark and serious mood of the story.
David Bradley delivers an amazing performance of his own as he plays the role of a blind man who ends up teaching the creature to read and speak fluently. David evokes wisdom and humanity to this character, acting as a significant figure to the creature, showing him that not all of humanity is bad, even with their flaws, and creating a beautiful friendship that really hits the heart.
Lars Mikkelsen also delivers a really solid performance as Captain Anderson, based on the character Captain Robert Walton from the original novel, acting as not only the gateway character for the audience to connect with the story of Victor and the creature but also acting as his own character that changes his own questionable ways once hearing the full story between the two.
The film’s narrative is a near-accurate adaptation of the novel’s non-linear narrative, which opens from the prelude perspective of the expedition captain before switching to Victor’s retelling of events that lead up to a certain point, and then the creature’s story that brings everything full circle. The film takes its time with both sides of the story in such a marvelously detailed manner to make you understand the layers of the characters and the lives they live, ultimately leading to the grand confrontation and conclusion between both of them.
It is a slow-burn kind of film but every moment is significant to the story and themes it is trying to tell, making this more than just a tale of man playing God but a study of loneliness, longing, generational trauma, life, death, and, of course, humanity. It is darkly poetic and emotionally devastating, much like the original novel, with only a couple various changes that not only still respect the themes of the source material but even improve upon some of them in Guillermo del Toro’s unique and passionate vision. By the end of the film you will feel extremely moved by all that you witnessed and gain a new appreciation for the Frankenstein story like I did.
From a technical perspective, Guillermo del Toro effortlessly brings the timeless and gothic world of Mary Shelley’s novel to life while inputting his own visual spins that he is known for in his past works, making for the most visually stunning adaptation of Frankenstein ever made. The cinematography is gorgeous from the moment the first frame drops, and every frame going forward feels like a painting or dark fantasy dream made real. There are so many shots that are guaranteed to become iconic for not just horror fans but every film fan in general as these shots will stay with you long after watching.
Paired up with the striking cinematography is the equally striking practical effects, costumes, and sets that really give this film its unique visual flair and moments you can never unsee. There is a lot of grotesque gore and body horror that Guillermo del Toro puts on full display and yet somehow makes it look visually appealing to look at, which is not something I’d expect myself to say.
There are amazing hand built sets that we get to see fully utilized, along with on set location sequences that add awe and depth to this world as well as give a hauntingly gothic atmosphere that is always present in the film from start to end. CGI is only used on a couple of occasions throughout the film for some small things but it all looks really great, especially on the big screen. The film’s editing and sound design is absolutely on point as is the score by composer Alexandre Desplat who really brings the dark fantasy elements of this film to life with music that can range from whimsical and enchanting to evocative and powerful.
You could not get me to find a single flaw in this film no matter how much you tried, because Guillermo del Toro created a perfect and beautiful adaptation of Frankenstein that was clearly a passion project for him. The Shakespearean performances and phenomenal writing paired with his gothic visual style and craftsmanship makes this a truly remarkable film that will be remembered for years to come as it sets a new bar for adaptations of Frankenstein that no other could possibly reach. I encourage everyone to go see this film in theaters if possible as it is a film that was truly meant for the big screen instead of streaming only. This is the definitive cinematic version of the Frankenstein story and deserves to be treated as such. I’m going to give Frankenstein (2025) an A+ = 100.
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