Classical monsters and their concepts have always followed us from their beginnings, from the powerful Universal Classic Monsters with Dracula, Mummy and the Invisible Man, to becoming themes even for younger ages such as “Monster High.” Monsters and their differences have been slowly engrained into our culture and it will continue to follow with every generation having its own iteration.
During the last half of 2025, the new “Frankenstein” film came out and made a new iteration for this decade. “Frankenstein” is a high budget gothic interpretation by acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro, starring Oscar Isaac as the scientist Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as the monster. Guillermo del Toro is known for his admiration towards the “odd,” directing past films such as “Pan’s Labyrinth” and academy award winner “The Shape of Water” and when the news first came out, it made complete sense for him to be interested in retelling this classic tale.
The most impactful aspect of the film is by far the performance of Jacob Elordi as the Creature, being almost ironic as he was the second choice after Andrew Garfield left the film due to scheduling conflicts. The utter presence Elordi has at an outstanding 6’5” height gets only amplified when standing next to Oscar Isaac’s 5’9” height, which while maybe not intentional, makes for an amazing storytelling tool of their dynamic. The physicality is complimented by a very touching portrayal of the iconic Creature, showcasing the complexity of the character and the suffering he constantly endures.
Victor Frankenstein created the creature from scraps of multiple corpses, as he was interested in creating life but most importantly, defying death. This comes from the first part of the story, where we learned the abuse he endured as a young child, accompanied by the death of his dear mother played by Mia Goth. The topic of men trying to replicate God is not a very revolutionary one but it is played excellently by Isaac and really deepens us into his ideas and plans.
What follows is a story about the repetitive cycle of abuse, with Victor becoming a frequent abuser of the creature, even though tremendously stronger than his creator. We see an attempt to build a strong relationship between both characters, which certainly did not fully land when bringing the main situation to a climax. Elordi can make for a very empathetic creature, when many feel extreme sadness at seeing him escape the chambers of his enclosure and try to understand the world around him, where he was quickly met with violence and aggression.
The film standing at almost two and a half can feel that way, especially when the creature has not yet been created and we are just understanding the story of Victor. Even with the issue of timing in some scenes, the film still feels as if it drags us to the ending and pushes emotions down our throat even if we have not fully incorporated some of the feelings and conversations happening. This is what truly sets the film back from greatness and what in my opinion could have been the breaking point for it to become one of the best adaptations of the story, even if there are current debates about its authenticity. Even with this let-down throughout the last minutes of the film, the journey is a very enjoyable one which is highlighted by a good cast and a great story.
2025’s “Frankenstein” is now available on streaming services and I recommend it to anyone reading.
