My Thoughts on the Film, Frankenstein (2025), 2/22/2026….

I started viewing Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein with high expectations and was not disappointed. Aside from updating the 19th Century decade from 1818, when the novel was first published, to 1857, the story remained faithful to the original text. The narrative's flash-forward of nearly forty years was effective, mainly due to the technology available at the time.

The story of Frankenstein is still chilling, still affecting, still raises those existential questions that can only be discussed, not resolved.

Victor Frankenstein is a self-absorbed, bipolar, brilliant medical doctor with daddy issues and a chip on his shoulder larger than the creature he creates. He becomes obsessed with reversing death at a young age after a significant loss of faith in his father’s abilities, who was also a brilliant medical doctor.

After embarrassing himself in front of Academia and being ejected from the university where he teaches, a mysterious benefactor approaches him, offering financial assistance and resources to help Victor pursue his research.

The rest of the tale, of course, is in the telling.

With three Oscar statues displayed on his shelf, Guillermo del Toro (Nightmare Alley) employs his surrealist, extremely violent, dark fairy tale style to reinterpret this classic story of horror and alienation. Squeamish viewers should take care, but if you can get past that, you can marvel at how the auteur’s visual brilliance adds to the film’s narrative. This film is no (The) Shape of Water, but it is among his best.

Oscar Isaac portrays Victor Frankenstein with enough gravitas and skill to make the mad scientist almost sympathetic. Jacob Elordi, earning a deserved Oscar nod for his performance here, brings profundity and meaning to a character with stunted emotional development. Christoph Waltz and Mia Goth round out the major characters with depth and aplomb.

This film is definitely worth a re-watch or two. I highly recommend it.