Frankenstein Movie Review

Released: 7th November 2025 (Theaters and Netflix)

Length: 150 Minutes

Certificate: 15

Director: Guillermo Del Toro

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz

Growing up on classic literature, Guillermo Del Toro has always applied an imaginative and detailed approach to filmmaking. Following a grand venture into 2D animation with Pinnochio, he’s taking on another iconic story. It’s pitched as a major passion project for the director and for the most part it delivers on his pedigree.

In the early 1800s, Dr Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) grows up determined to cheat death and shocks his peers with his work on reanimation. Using the body parts of several corpses on a stormy night, he creates a dark and twisted new life (Jacob Elordi), but conflict quickly erupts between the creator and his prodigal son. This adaptation makes some changes from the book, most notably by splitting it into two perspectives. Dr Frankenstein is the main narrator with the first act focusing on him, but the second focuses on his creation. This creates two distinctive tones; the former is bitter and uncaring while the latter has a natural beauty that immerses the audience. As soon as Frankenstein starts sculpting, the story proceeds at a great pace with characters rotated in and out over time. At two hours and a half, it has plenty of material to flesh out the two main characters and their mindsets. One is dismissive of those around him, the other struggles to comprehend his unnatural immortality; the result is a dark yet thoughtful tale that still has a beating heart under the surface.

For the cast, we have a range of highly respected actors. Victor Frankenstein is relentlessly villainous; the uncaring regard for his own creation is laced with cruelty, but as he tells his story to a ship crew, you see how his deeds have eaten away at him over time; Oscar Issac conveys this change brilliantly. By contrast Jacob Elordi does a wonderful job capturing the monster’s mannerisms in movement, facial expressions and eventually speech. Empathy is drawn from his innocent, childlike nature and how he tries to understand his place in the world. At one point he connects with a kindly old man (David Bradley) and a set of misunderstandings leads to some tragic moments. The emotional rift between the creature and his father is a central anchor as well and this really comes to the forefront in the final act. Other side characters, particularly those played by Charles Dance and Christoph Waltz, command the screen with their intricate dialogue and steadfast attitudes. A prologue with Frankenstein’s father provides a strong backstory and the protagonist eventually comes to blows with his financier as the creation process begins. The one weak link in the cast and the wider production is Mia Goth. She has strong experience in the horror genre but here her performance feels somewhat flat when compared to the rest of the cast. Elizabeth is one of few characters who treat the Frankenstein monster with dignity, but she needed more depth and material to make an impression.

Like all the director’s previous films, Frankenstein is shot and presented beautifully. The make-up work and costume designs are the biggest highlight by far. Vibrant colours, gruesome corpses and natural landscapes really pull you into this world. The sets rely on real locations and partially built sections enhanced with blue-screen backgrounds and props. For the most part they blend brilliantly with the lighting, creating a foreboding atmosphere. When the lightning strikes the doctor’s laboratory, the dark green clouds cast many shadows over the experiment and a full-sized ship trapped in the ice creates many visceral set pieces. In his third collaboration with Guillermo, composer Alexandre Desplat creates several defining themes for the characters, imbuing the production with pulsing notes and heartfelt sequences.

It has some stumbles with performances, but Frankenstein is another solid effort from Guillermo Del Toro and his dedicated production crew. His trademark style continues to burst with colour and the film generates great empathy for the monster at its centre. It will thoroughly satisfy any fan of horror and classical stories.

Rating: 4/5 Stars (Great)