\u201c<\/em>Frankenstein<\/em><\/strong>\u201d<\/em>\u00a0has stalked the screen for nearly a century, but it was James Whale\u2019s 1931 classic that set the template \u2014 Boris Karloff\u2019s tender, clumsy creature as much victim as villain. Since then, the monster has been reborn countless times: in Hammer\u2019s gothic series (1957 to 1974), Kenneth Branagh\u2019s\u00a0\u201cMary Shelley\u2019s Frankenstein<\/em><\/strong>\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(1994), parodies like Mel Brooks\u00a0\u201cYoung Frankenstein<\/em><\/strong>\u201d <\/em>(1974)<\/em>, or kid-friendly riffs like Tim Burton\u2019s\u00a0\u201cFrankenweenie<\/em><\/strong>\u201d<\/em> (2012). More recently, modern parables like Yorgos Lanthimos\u00a0\u201cPoor Thing<\/strong>s<\/em>\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(2023) have echoed its themes. Each incarnation trades in fear and fascination, asking: who is the real monster \u2014 the creature or the hand that made him.<\/p>\n <\/ins><\/p>\n Del Toro chooses to emphasize the romanticism, toning down the horror. His version isn\u2019t just a retelling \u2014 it\u2019s a reinvention rooted in emotional mythmaking, a horror film with a soul. Oscar Isaac plays the brilliant scientist Victor Frankenstein, tormented by passion and ambition. His presence is unsettling: human enough to be relatable, monstrous enough to be feared. He is no cold technician, but a soul consumed by yearning to conquer death, making him both creator and destroyer, both brilliant and self-destructive.<\/p>\n \u00a9Courtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n The story doesn\u2019t open in a castle but on the frozen edge of the world. A Danish ship, locked in Arctic ice, its crew (they do speak Danish) bracing against merciless weather and faces a monster of inhuman strength. They also rescue a half-dead stranger \u2014 Victor Frankenstein himself \u2014 who begins to recount the nightmare that brought him here. Victor\u2019s tale begins.<\/p>\n The film is filmed in Toronto studios and in Scottland by Danish cinematographer Dan Laustsen, who also shot del Toro\u2019s \u201cNightmare Alley<\/em><\/strong>\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(2021) and\u00a0\u201cThe Shape of Water<\/strong><\/em>\u201d<\/em>. It\u2019s a feast for the eyes, shifting between shadowed intimacy and sweeping gothic grandeur. Yet at two hours, the sheer scale grows overwhelming, even tiring. Still, every location feels meticulously designed. The production design and Kate Hawley\u2019s costumes are dazzling and likely Oscar contenders \u2014 particularly Mia Goth\u2019s Elizabeth (Victor\u2019s love interest and Christoph Waltz\u2019s characters niece), whose wardrobe feels like its own narrative thread.<\/p>\n <\/ins><\/p>\n Even though the film runs long, the music swells too bombastically, and the grandiose visuals sometimes create distance, the emotional core remains gripping: the father-son dynamic between creator and creation. Victor treats his \u201cson\u201d with coldness and incomprehension, neglecting him without guidance, love, or compassion. This cruelty draws the audience\u2019s sympathy toward the creature, and Victor\u2019s ego gives bad parenting a chilling new dimension, echoing his own father\u2019s distant authority.<\/p>\n The most arresting part arrives when the monster\u2019s point of view takes over. He finally speaks, and his tragic tale unfolds. We follow his desperate search for connection, only to meet fear and rejection at every turn. The cinematography mirrors his isolation: close-ups linger on his anguished face, capturing the human heart beating beneath stitched skin. Australian actor Jacob Elordi nails him. Movement, body language, voice \u2014 his performance is a study in restrained intensity.<\/p>\n Elordi\u2019s creature is pale, his almost radiant skin contrasting with dark, melancholic eyes. Gone are the bolts and the flat-top head of Whale\u2019s icon; here, the monster seems sculpted from human flesh, marked by subtle scars and expressive eyes. This infuses him with both menace and fragility.<\/p>\n We get to meet a lonely, tragic being caught between life, death, and humanity. A stranger, curious and terrifying, yet heartbreakingly human. He rages and suffers with innocence \u2014 a newborn rejected by the world.<\/p>\n \u00a9Courtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n Grade: B-<\/p>\n If you like the review, share your thoughts below.<\/p>\n![\"Frankenstein\"](\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Frankenstein2.png\")
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