Frankenstein (2025)

To be honest I don't think I would have had anything more than an academic interest in a new Frankenstein movie if it was not being directed by Guillermo del Toro.  The last major attempt at the story was Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein back in 1994, which was made to ride on the coattails of the Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula.  Even the presence of Robert De Niro as the monster couldn't elevate that film from merely okay.

The one thing it did right, however, was the creature.  In Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein;  or, the New Prometheus the creature was articulate and not the violent, lumbering hulk with a criminal's brain as portrayed by Boris Karloff in James Whale's 1931 adaptation.  From the Hammer movies onward there has been a trend to present Victor Frankenstein as the bad guy and the creature (or, in the Hammer series, creatures) as sympathetic.  It wasn't until 1994 that an actual attempt to adapt the novel occurred and, though that largely failed, it's not a surprise that del Toro decided to take up those reigns. 

Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaacs) is from a wealthy family whose patriarch, Baron Leopold Frankenstein (Charles Dance), is a renowned surgeon.  He expects Victor to follow in his wake, using harsh discipline to teach him the profession while allowing his younger brother William (Felix Kammerer) to have a carefree life.  When Victor's mother (Mia Goth) dies giving birth to William, Victor ultimately decides that he will find some way to conquer death.

Though his methods - using electrical stimulation to bring the dead back to life - causes scandal at his university Frankenstein finds encouragement from Harlander (Christopher Waltz), a wealthy arms dealer and the father of his soon-to-be sister-in-law Elizabeth (Goth).  Problem is, Victor also falls for Elizabeth.  Meanwhile, after a breakthrough and with the bodies of soldiers killed in battle by Harlander's weapons, Victor eventually constructs a creature from the parts and brings it to life, only to realize his mistake and try to destroy it.  The creature (Jacob Elordi) survives as it, in fact, cannot die.  After coming to terms with its existence it seeks out Victor to demand a companion be made. 

 There are changes but not as many as in other versions.  Harlander is del Toro's creation and Elizabeth, instead of being Victor's intended, is William's, who is a grown man.  The desire for a companion, and Victor's initial desire to do so before realizing what that may mean, are also part of the book and were inspiration for Bride of Frankenstein.  There are characters and parts removed but there is also a reverence for the source material that is absent from what came before.  The one major change, however, is making the creature immortal, meaning that even after its creator's death it will wander the world as an outsider for as long as our planet exists.  

As usual del Toro throws everything he has at the story.  It is at times exceedingly bloody while at the same time maintaining a sense of class and an effort to not have too many anachronisms, although this is not possible to avoid completely when the movie is about bringing a corpse back to life in what appears to be the late 1840s.  He insisted on building entire sets rather than relying solely on green screens, so combined with the fine performances of everyone involved it does feel like an older film, and perhaps a bit more of what Branagh was going for in his.

Despite it being an excellent piece of cinema I can't help but feel there is a hollowness to this version of Frankenstein.  I don't know if it is the attention to period detail or if things are just a little too perfect.  It feels as if the emotional impact of the relationship between Frankenstein and his creation doesn't gel.  The one time the movie truly works is when the creature encounters a blind old man (David Bradley) who treats him with kindness, and who eventually becomes his friend and mentor.  The dramatic denouement of this portion is undercut by horrible CGI creations of animals that look like video game sprites rather than something tangible, and that may be what ultimately undercuts the film as well.  It's brilliant filmmaking, it is wonderful to look at and the story is told with earnestness and faithfulness, but the emotional core is missing. 

Even though this is the most faithful adaptation of the story Frankenstein still remains the most resonant version despite only having a passing resemblance to Shelley's novel.  Even as monosyllabic lumbering homunculus Boris Karloff made the creature so much more than it was scripted and Whale seemed more interested in making an effective piece of art than with frightening the audience.  Del Toro also wants to go beyond just visceral scares and do something more, and one would think he would be the one to do it.  Maybe there is just something about modern filmmaking that prevents even someone like him from making a movie that connects with the audience like the classic ones did. 

Frankenstein (2025)

Time: 159 minutes

Starring: Oscar Isaacs, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christopher Waltz

Director: Guillermo del Toro