At the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, Guillermo del Toro unveiled his latest cinematic vision with his adaptation of Frankenstein, offering a fresh perspective on Mary Shelley’s classic novel. This Guillermo del Toro Frankenstein review highlights his aim to revisit the story with a deeper exploration of father-son dynamics and a more nuanced portrayal of the Creature, marked by striking visuals and emotional depth.
Del Toro’s Unique Take on the Classic Tale
Guillermo del Toro has long expressed his ambition to create a version of Frankenstein that remains faithful to the emotional and thematic heart of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, a story many have attempted to bring to screen without fully capturing its complexity. Del Toro preserves the original’s layered narrative structure by including multiple narrators, most notably giving screen time to the Creature himself, played by Jacob Elordi. This Creature contrasts greatly with the traditionally silent or barely verbal depictions epitomized by Boris Karloff’s iconic performance. While Del Toro honors the spirit of Shelley’s work, he also introduces significant changes in the story and character dynamics to reflect his own cinematic vision. Thus, viewers experience not a direct adaptation but a reimagining filtered through the sensibilities of the writer-director.
The film combines moments of breathtaking beauty with a narrative that is both compelling and at times deeply moving. However, for those familiar with both Del Toro’s and Shelley’s work, certain elements invite closer scrutiny, as some reinterpretations feel less sharpened compared to his earlier projects.
Reframing the Father-Son Relationship and the Nature of the Monster
One of the most profound alterations del Toro makes concerns the father-son conflict at the heart of the original novel. Whereas Mary Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein is depicted as a privileged young man who neglects his creation out of fear, del Toro portrays Victor, played by Oscar Isaac, as a troubled child who grows up to be a harsh, even abusive father figure. This version of Victor harbors contempt rather than fear toward the Creature, intensifying the emotional tension between creator and creation. The narrative begins with Victor as an abused child (Christian Convery), charting his trajectory into a complicated adulthood marked by bitterness and disappointment.
Del Toro has emphasized that his Frankenstein is not a traditional horror film. The storyline includes just one genuinely terrifying scene, where Victor’s academic peers react with disgust during his experiments in reanimating dead tissue. This sequence functions not only as a visual highlight but also underscores Victor’s lack of fear toward his experiments or their outcome. Consequently, the monster’s rejection by society stems from Victor’s hatred and failure rather than simple fear or misunderstanding.
The Creature, embodied by Jacob Elordi, emerges as an intelligent, sensitive being who learns language and human behavior by observing a small family. This storyline closely mirrors sections of Shelley’s novel, including a poignant friendship with a blind family patriarch portrayed by David Bradley. Yet, while the Creature’s yearning for companionship and understanding echoes the book, del Toro softens the character’s darker impulses. Notably, the Creature’s pursuit of revenge is mitigated, never fully descending into monstrosity. This is underscored by the Creature’s Biblical self-identification with Adam but absence of alignment with Lucifer—a departure from Shelley’s depiction that diminishes the Creature’s potential for rebellion and malice.
This adaptation also depicts the Creature being wrongfully accused of murder multiple times, used to rationalize the rejection he endures. While this humanizes the conflicts the Creature faces, it also alters the thematic underpinnings of fear and otherness that traditionally motivate the hostile responses in the original tale, leading to mixed impressions about the effectiveness of this narrative choice.
Visual and Artistic Excellence Elevate the Film
Visually, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein stands out as a remarkable achievement. The lavish Gothic sets and richly detailed Victorian costumes create an immersive world that is as beautiful as it is haunting. The Creature’s makeup and hairstyling, meticulously crafted with elegant scarring effects, elevate the film’s aesthetic quality, making it a strong candidate for awards in production design, costume design, and makeup artistry. The extensive production timeline reflects del Toro’s commitment to creating an epic scale, sparing no expense to realize his artistic vision.
Some thematic elements bear resemblance to Del Toro’s earlier films, which lessens the novelty of certain creative choices. For instance, the Creature’s immortality echoes motifs from Del Toro’s Pinocchio, and the film’s hopeful outlook on healing familial trauma calls to mind The Shape of Water. The character of Elizabeth, portrayed by Mia Goth, makes an impactful first impression and provides the film’s moments of levity through her early clashes with Victor. Unfortunately, her character’s potential is not fully explored, leaving a sense that her role could have been more substantial in the film’s dramatic arcs.
The Film’s Length and Narrative Scope
Running two and a half hours with a bifurcated narrative structure, this Frankenstein feels expansive, suggesting that Netflix may anticipate some viewers pausing for a break. Many fans may wish that the film included an intermission or expanded even further to better encompass the novel’s darker final acts, which are less developed here. As a result, while the film is a visually stunning and emotionally resonant effort, it does not claim to be the definitive cinematic adaptation of Shelley’s work.
Among recent adaptations, the reviewer still favors projects like Poor Things for originality and cites the acclaimed National Theatre production by Nick Dear and Danny Boyle, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller, as the best theatrical interpretation of Shelley’s novel. Nonetheless, Del Toro’s film stands as a significant artistic accomplishment, offering a thoughtful, intense, and hopeful reexamination of a timeless story.
Frankenstein premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and is scheduled for release in select theaters on October 17, followed by streaming availability on Netflix starting November 7.
