The film “Frankenstein” left many viewers feeling a mix of awe, sadness and discomfort by the time the credits rolled. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, this 2025 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel shifts the spotlight away from cheap horror and instead focuses on the emotional bond and disconnect between creator and creation.
The Creature is played by Jacob Elordi, while his creator, Victor Frankenstein, is played by Oscar Isaac. Both actors bring a sense of humanistic values to their characters that Shelly emphasized in the book. This is what has been lacking in other film adaptations of the novel. Rounding out the cast is Mia Goth, this year’s reigning scream queen, who plays Elizabeth, Victor’s future sister-in-law.
Rather than delivering a fast-paced monster movie, del Toro’s Frankenstein is slow, emotional and surprisingly heartbreaking. This isn’t a story about a simple monster terrorizing villages. It’s about loneliness, ambition and the consequences of creating life without taking responsibility for it. From the very beginning, the film makes it clear that the true horror lies not in the creature itself, but in the way the world treats the creature.
Most people already know the basic Frankenstein story: a scientist pushes science too far, creates life and then has to deal with the consequences. Del Toro doesn’t try to reinvent that plot, but he does deepen it.
The film focuses heavily on Victor Frankenstein as a deeply flawed human, using the first half of the film to showcase that. He struggles with his relationship with his father and his mother’s death. That leads him down the road to obsess over life and death, and he ends up creating the creature.
In the second half, viewers get to see the Creature’s own path through life without his creator after their falling out. Viewers witness the cruelty he is put through, mainly for being visually different than the average human. He slowly becomes painfully aware of his isolation which causes him to act out. These scenarios create an amazing gothic film that focuses heavily on tragic characters.
Visually, the film is stunning. Del Toro clearly loves practical effects, detailed sets and old-school gothic imagery, and it shows in every frame. The laboratories feel alive, the lighting is moody without being hard to see and the Creature’s design is haunting rather than flashy. Nothing feels rushed or cheap. Even when not much is happening plot-wise, the movie keeps your attention just by how carefully crafted it is.
The one con I found in this movie is the pacing. While it’s labeled as a horror film, it can be painfully slow at times and often relies heavily on conversations versus action. Del Toro takes his time exploring the themes set out in Shelley’s novel and portraying that through his film. It is entertaining, but there are a number of scenes that seem to carry on longer than necessary, creating symbolic elements rather than entertaining elements.
Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” isn’t a movie you watch for jumpscares, but one you watch if you want to feel something. It forces the audience to sit with the discomfort of the creature and empathize with Victor Frankenstein’s motives.
Del Toro’s “Frankenstein” proves that a story written over 200 years ago can still hit a nerve today. By the end, you’re not scared of the monster, but instead you’re rooting for him. If a movie about a stitched-together creature can make you rethink humanity, maybe it’s doing something right.
