Guillermo del Toro Frankenstein is a long-awaited filmic adaptation, now earning major critical attention as it brings a fresh focus on forgiveness to Mary Shelley’s classic tale. After decades of development, del Toro’s vision has come to life, starring Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth, and Jacob Elordi, and gathering five Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture — Drama, as it streams on Netflix.
Del Toro’s Vision Comes to Life
Guillermo del Toro, winner of multiple Academy Awards, has been captivated by Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel since at least 1987, as evidenced by a personal sketch of the Creature he made that year. This adaptation is not only a cinematic achievement but also a personal fulfillment for del Toro, whose evolving perspectives on themes like forgiveness deeply shape the narrative. He expressed in interviews before the film’s release, including those with Entertainment Weekly and at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, how meaningful it is to bring this story forward at his current stage in life.
The film’s arrival on Netflix signals a milestone for del Toro and his long-held creative ambitions. With its awards recognition and growing buzz, Guillermo del Toro Frankenstein captivates both long-time fans of the monster mythos and new viewers drawn to its profound emotional center.
The Origins of Victor Frankenstein’s Obsession
Victor Frankenstein’s troubled upbringing is pivotal to the story. As a child, Victor (hinted by performances from Christian Convery and Oscar Isaac) grapples with the pain caused by his emotionally and physically abusive father, Leopold (Charles Dance), a surgeon whom Victor blames for his mother’s death during childbirth (portrayed by Mia Goth). Shaped by surviving trauma and loss, young Victor imagines a dark angel promising him the chance to control the forces of life and death. This moment marks the inception of his lifelong quest to overcome mortality.
Victor’s academic pursuits push boundaries, ultimately leading to his expulsion from university after his attempts to reanimate the dead shock his overseers. Yet, his ambitions are kept alive by Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz), whose financial patronage provides Victor with a private laboratory set in an abandoned tower, complete with advanced equipment for harnessing electricity — the critical element enabling Victor’s experiments to progress.
As Victor constructs the Creature using remains from soldiers and criminals, the anticipated revival is slow to manifest—though the Creature eventually awakens. Frustrated by the Creature’s lack of intellectual development, Victor isolates it, abandoning what he believes is a failed endeavor. Elizabeth (Mia Goth), Victor’s sister-in-law and secret love, extends compassion to the Creature, complicating Victor’s emotions and furthering the sense of isolation within his monstrous invention.
The Tower’s Destruction and Its Aftermath
Victor’s sense of failure and anger peak as he resolves to destroy evidence of his creation. He sets the tower ablaze, intending for the Creature to perish within. In a final test of the Creature’s intellect, Victor offers a chance for mercy if it can speak a second word beyond his own name. When the Creature manages to utter “Elizabeth,” Victor’s rage prevails, and he fires the building, ignoring desperate cries of his name. In the chaos, Victor is injured, suffering a shattered leg that necessitates a prosthetic.
Unknown to Victor, the Creature escapes death by tearing off its restraints and slipping away through a drainage pipe. This resilience, and the Creature’s urge for survival, sets the stage for an ongoing pursuit defined by alienation and longing for understanding.
The Creature’s Search for Meaning
Fleeing into the wilderness, the Creature finds unexpected kindness from a blind elder (David Bradley) on a nearby farm. Through the guidance and teaching of the old man, the Creature learns to speak and read, later returning to the ruins of the tower to piece together the truth of its own creation from Victor’s letters.
Tragedy strikes when the farm elder is fatally wounded by wolves. The Creature is shot by the man’s family, who mistakenly believe it responsible for the death. Survival in the face of such violence becomes a curse. The Creature states,
“I cannot die, and I cannot live alone,”
—an expression of its eternal torment.
Haunted by the prospect of endless solitude, it locates Victor, demanding the creation of a companion: “We can be monsters together.” Victor rejects the plea, unwilling to unleash further suffering by allowing the Creature to reproduce, intensifying the sense of torment and denial on both sides.
Elizabeth’s Fate and Its Emotional Fallout
Elizabeth enters the narrative’s most intense confrontation when she finds Victor and the Creature together. Drawn by empathy toward the Creature, she intervenes to protect it when Victor pulls a gun. The shot meant for the Creature strikes Elizabeth instead. Gravely wounded, she is taken by the Creature to a cave, where she shares a final reflection:
“I sought and longed for something I could not quite name. But in you, I found it.”
— Mia Goth as Elizabeth.
The Final Pursuit and Forgiveness at the End
The story’s climax sees Victor pursuing his creation across the frozen Arctic, armed and desperate for resolve. The Creature, longing for an end to its own pain, attempts suicide with dynamite but survives, emphasizing its cursed unkillability. A frostbitten Victor finds sanctuary aboard a Danish sailing ship, where the narrative’s structure brings the past and present together.
The opening moments of the film are revisited when the Creature arrives on the icebound ship, killing several sailors amid the confrontation. An exchange of gunfire breaks the ice, dropping the Creature into the sea. In his final moments, Victor relates the story to the ship’s captain (Lars Mikkelsen), after which the Creature emerges from the water to confront him with its perspective.
Del Toro’s adaptation pivotally alters the source material here, increasing the emphasis on forgiveness. Victor, at the brink of death, pleads,
“Forgive me, my son, and if you have it in your heart, forgive yourself into existence. If death is not to be, then consider this, my son, wherever you are alive, what recourse do you have but to live?”
— Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein. The Creature accepts, responding,
“Perhaps now we can both be human.”
— Jacob Elordi as the Creature.
Del Toro explained his reasoning in an interview:
“What you realize is a grudge takes two prisoners and forgiveness liberates two people.”
— Guillermo del Toro, Director. He further stated,
“The moment they make each other human — father and son — he comes out and he decides in a beautiful moment to say, ‘The people that attacked me, I’m gonna free them,’”
— Guillermo del Toro, Director.
“And turns and pushes [the ship]… It’s a liberation. And I think that’s the difference with the book. This ends in a note of possible hope.”
— Guillermo del Toro, Director.
After Victor’s death, the captain commands the crew to allow the Creature to depart in peace. In return, the Creature releases the trapped ship from the ice using its supernatural strength, underscoring the film’s focus on redemption and liberation.
The Film’s Closing Moments: A New Dawn
Guillermo del Toro Frankenstein concludes with the Creature walking forward, alone, into the sunrise, removing its hood to bathe in the light. This symbolism directly relates back to Victor’s earlier reassurance, “The sun is life.” The Creature, once afraid of the daylight, now embraces it—a visual affirmation of newfound acceptance and readiness for existence.
The conclusion forgoes vengeance in favor of emotional resolution, signaling a break from traditional interpretations of Shelley’s novel. The Creature’s journey ends with open possibility, a product of forgiveness and self-recognition, affirming del Toro’s belief in the power of compassion to heal profound wounds.
Where to Watch Guillermo del Toro’s Adaptation
Guillermo del Toro Frankenstein is currently available for streaming on Netflix, inviting viewers to experience its emotional complexity and inventive reimagining of a literary classic.
