‘Frankenstein’: A Good Gothic Horror Film, But A Flawed Adaptation
The story of Frankenstein is near-universally known. Mary Shelley’s timeless tale has forever shaped the landscape of sci-fi and gothic horror and continues to do so to this very day. Any story regarding humans contending with the creatures they themselves have created owes its existence to this very novel. It, of course, has had many adaptations, the most iconic of which is James Whale’s 1931 classic, which has become the definitive image of the story in pop culture. But despite its influence, it is not a fully faithful adaptation of the original text, and many subsequent versions have failed to deliver.
Of the many directors working today, there is perhaps none better suited to the task of adapting this gothic masterpiece than Guillermo del Toro. From Pan’s Labyrinth to Hellboy and The Shape of Water, del Toro is a master at exploring monsters. He interrogates them, sees the beauty in them, and shows how they are more human than some of the real humans they share the screen with. With his unique directorial voice and a masterpiece of a book to pull from, del Toro’s version of Frankenstein had the potential to be the definitive version of the tale. The question, then, is, of course, does he succeed?
Released theatrically on Friday, October 17, 2025, before a worldwide Netflix streaming release on Friday, November 7, 2025, Frankenstein is an American Gothic science fiction horror film. It was produced by Double Dare You, Demilo Films, and Bluegrass 7. It stars Oscar Isaac as the eponymous Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as The Creature. The film also stars Mia Goth as both Elizabeth and Claire Frankenstein, and features David Bradley, Lars Mikkelsen, Christoph Waltz, and Charles Dance in supporting roles.
The story follows the life of the egotistical Victor Frankenstein as he embarks on a quest of experimentation and ambition, seeking to bring new life by his own hand. His experiment results in the birth of a Creature, one who inevitably comes to despise his creator and father. The story follows the conflict between these two and the impact their behavior and actions have on those around them.
Like any del Toro film, the elements of production are firing on all cylinders. His vision of the Gothic is not one of towering churches and overwhelming darkness with slivers of light. It is colorful, horrifying, and grotesque. Right from the opening scene, del Toro draws the viewer in with a marvellous set of a frozen ship, trapped in the ice, followed by a harrowing first look at The Creature. This visual mastery continues throughout the film, and del Toro’s vision shows the beauty and the horror of the story. Every prop and every set choice feels as though it tells a story. There is no doubt that del Toro is 100% committed to his version of the story, for better and worse. The cinematography, while certainly capable of being off-putting, ultimately services the story incredibly well. The camera’s constant movement gives the film an electric pace, and thus, the daunting 150-minute runtime flies by.
This is all aided by excellent set and costume design, as well as some truly astounding make-up. A particular standout are the outfits worn by Elizabeth, all of which tell a story. This culminates in her final scene in a wedding dress, aesthetically a callback to The Bride featured in the original novel. Yet another aspect that helps the film is a beautiful score by Alexandre Desplat. It effortlessly immerses the audience in the many characters’ perspectives, and is perfect for every variety of sequence. With all these compliments to the production, there are unfortunate instances where the CGI stands out. For all the effort the film takes to immerse the viewer in its world, these moments shatter the immersion completely.
But perhaps this film’s finest aspect is its performances. Oscar Isaac excellently portrays this version of Victor Frankenstein; one that is older, more bitter, and more callous than his book counterpart, but is just as ambitious. The first half of the film contains Isaac’s best work, showcasing Victor’s destructive ambition, his anger, his loathing, and ultimate regret at his actions. It is unfortunate, then, that much of his complexity vanishes once The Creature is introduced. Victor becomes a consistently mean and bitter character for the rest of the film, to the point it becomes tiresome. As a result, Isaac’s performance becomes repetitive and obvious, and unfortunately, the title character becomes an afterthought in his film.
Victor’s sidelining lays bare del Toro’s true reason for adapting this story: The Creature, which is by far this film’s biggest achievement. Jacob Elordi gives a generational performance and is absolutely unrecognizable. He is believable as a new being discovering himself, later becoming a compassionate and curious person, before finally becoming a vengeful force of destruction. Elordi’s physicality, movements, mannerisms, and line delivery are all exceptional. The film’s best emotional moment is with him, and his process of learning and growth is truly outstanding. It becomes even more impressive considering the immense amount of makeup that Elordi has to work with, yet at no point is his performance hampered. He works through the limitations, creating a character that is truly unlike anything else in other films released in 2025. Elordi and del Toro's version of The Creature is incredibly faithful to the book in design and shape, but unfortunately falls short of the book’s complexity. Del Toro’s love of monsters arguably works against him here, as now The Creature lacks any real complexity other than being a victim of Victor. Yet, despite the effort to make The Creature as innocent as possible, del Toro decides to contradict that fact by having The Creature commit mass slaughter in what is ultimately a pointless action sequence. Had del Toro stayed more faithful to the novel in this instance, this contradiction would not exist.
Unfortunately, this brings into view the film’s greatest flaw, which is its script and plot. Simply put, the characters are surprisingly simple compared to their book counterparts. The relationship between Victor and The Creature is simplified, placing all the blame on Victor and making The Creature a victim who does no wrong. This would be fine as a plot element exclusive to this film if the script did not insist on beating the viewer over with it constantly. The most egregious moment is a character quite literally saying, “You are the monster,” directly to Victor. The point was already made clearly from the very beginning of the film, but at times, it feels like an insult towards the audience’s intelligence.
This simplification runs throughout the script, with elements like Victor’s behavior being explained by the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. The complexity of Victor’s self-destructive ambition resulting in his downfall is absent in this version, instead simply turning the narrative into a cliched cycle of abuse that must be broken. While simplification is par for the course when it comes to book adaptations, the film has the runtime to deliver the complexity, but instead wastes time on pointless additions. The clearest example is Christoph Waltz’s character. His performance is great, but the character himself is utterly pointless. Every scene wastes time that could be spent exploring the relationship between Victor and The Creature, as well as Elizabeth’s role in the story.
Elizabeth is certainly expanded from her book counterpart, but nonetheless, her role feels cliched and predictable. The moment she meets The Creature, the audience can easily see where her story will go, especially if they have knowledge of del Toro’s previous works. Mia Goth does an excellent job, and every scene of hers is eye-catching in no small part due to the costume design and cinematography. But the character still feels underdeveloped, only serving the role of being the only one to see the beauty in The Creature.
This culminates in the film’s ending, one that feels incredibly forced in this version of the story. Del Toro wanted a more hopeful conclusion about living on, one that lacks the bitter tragedy of the novel. But because of how malicious Victor has been towards The Creature throughout the film, sometimes needlessly so, The Creature’s forgiveness of him feels far too contrived. This is yet another instance where remaining faithful to the source would have resulted in a more coherent narrative.
Ultimately, del Toro’s Frankenstein is a perfectly fine film on its own. There are definitely parts that feel forced and obvious, but it is nonetheless a visual marvel, with excellent aspects of production and truly sensational performances, with Elordi being the absolute standout. Those looking for a decent Gothic horror will certainly be left satisfied, but those who wish for a truly faithful adaptation that engages with Shelley’s themes and ideas will unfortunately be left with not a lot. It is certainly Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, with all the good and bad that comes with it.