Movie: Frankenstein
Release Date: Oct. 17, 2025
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Runtime: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Genre: Horror, drama
Rating: A
Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” the latest adaptation of Mary Shelley’s famous 1818 novel, certainly stands out from its predecessors. The film stays fairly close to its source material, with a few changes that are somewhat lacking but do not make it any less satisfying.
The film follows Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), an arrogant scientist intrigued by the idea of “playing God” and controlling life and death. Victor’s need to conquer death stems from his poor childhood, during which his mother died from childbirth under the care of his controlling stepfather. Through his benefactor, Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz), Victor is successful in his attempt to bring his creation (Jacob Elordi), a creature constructed from the body parts of multiple different corpses, to life.
It becomes clear that Victor was enthralled by whether or not he could defeat death rather than considering the responsibility and aftermath of creating such a creature. Victor assumes his role as a father for a short five seconds; he quickly becomes disgusted with and even somewhat fearful of his creation and tries to kill the creature by burning down his laboratory with him inside.
The creature, who survives the fire, begins to long for a companion after watching a family interact from afar. He searches for Victor to ask him to make another creation like him. Victor, still ashamed of what he has created, attempts to kill the creature once again, leading to an epic, climactic chase scene.
“Frankenstein” offers a beautifully heartbreaking relationship between Victor and his creature, which is effectively conveyed through both the cast's powerful performances and the blend of del Toro and Shelley’s skillful writing. No actor falls short of the mark, including Elordi, whose performance as the creature is incredible and deserves enormous praise. As the film progresses, Victor’s creation changes from a curious, almost baby-like creature to a cold-hearted, vengeance-seeking one, a development in character that is done effortlessly by Elordi.
There was some fear before watching that “Frankenstein” would end up being an overly pretentious adaptation that once again completely misses the mark of its source material, such as the 1931 version, which completely changes the creature's look and personality. However, del Toro went above and beyond to ensure that any worries were erased. The set design, score and costuming are fantastic and work well together, immersing the viewer into the time period as well as the gothic nature of the original novel.
There are some changes from Shelley’s book, most being about the character of Elizabeth Harlander (Mia Goth), the fiancée to Victor’s stepbrother, William Frankenstein (Felix Kammerer). Her relationship with Victor is curated through William and Henrich rather than from their childhood and her connection with the creature is one of admiration and curiosity rather than of fear.
Other changes include the erasure of a few characters, such as Victor’s childhood best friend, Henry Clerval, as well as how certain people die. In the novel, the creature kills both Elizabeth and William with no instigation out of his hatred for Victor, but, in the movie, Elizabeth and William meet their fates in a different way. These alterations, while noticeable by those who have read the book, do not change the intended premise by Shelley and still honor the original story.
The best — and most tragic — scene within the film is at the very end. Victor makes amends with his creation, offering him advice on how he should live his life. This final scene offers closure for Victor and the creature’s relationship that is not present in the book, a modification made by del Toro that is welcomed with open arms.
The whole film also emphasizes that the creature, who is continuously considered to be a "monster," deserves more empathy than other adaptations allow for. This interpretation draws attention to how tragic the story of Victor Frankenstein and the creature really is rather than just simply focusing on horror elements.
While “Frankenstein” has its strays from the original 1818 book, it brings the novel to life in ways it hasn’t been before. Through its strong cast and script, del Toro’s film stands above the rest and makes its mark as the best adaptation of Shelley’s novel thus far.