Mikes Film Talk

Directed and written by Guillermo del Toro, based upon Shelley’s book; Frankenstein (2025) at long last gets a Gothic interpretation. Not one of schlocky horror and pathos. Indeed, the pathos is there, but it is a different sort from that portrayed before. No Boris Karloff intoning, “Made me from dead. I love dead.”

Del Toro has a proven track record with his horror films. Be they supernatural Pan’s Labyrinth, The Devil’s Backbone, or scientific in nature; Mimic, The Shape of Water; this man knows his craft.

The Frankenstein Story

Victor Frankenstein is a brilliant surgeon and a man full of hubris. The pride in himself and his work leads him to believe he can raise the dead. He is laughed and taunted for these ideas and he sets out to prove the world of medicine and the public wrong. He creates life, but the cost is dear.

The Frankenstein Cast

Oscar Isaac is Victor Frankenstein.

Jacob Elordi is the creature.

Christoph Waltz is Harlander.

Mia Goth is Elizabeth.

Felix Kammerer is William Frankenstein.

Charles Dance is Leopold Frankenstein.

David Bradley is the blind man.

Lars Mikkelsen is Captain Anderson.

The cast here deliver. Isaac, a personal favorite, breathes life into Victor aknist effortlessly. Elordi make the creature both vulnerable and terrifying. Mia Goth manages to make Elizabeth feel doomed. Charles Dance commands every scene he is in. Lars Mikkelsen, brother of Mads, makes the most of his time in the film.

Let’s Talk Frankenstein

Let’s get the elephants out of the room, okay? First of all, William is a child in the book and Elizabeth is taken out by the monster on the night of her marriage to Victor. *Another point to consider. The scene with the creature fighting off multiple wolves was taken pretty much from the late Anne Rice. Lestat, before he becomes a vampire, battles a pack of the beasts. He becomes famous for this in his country while still a human.*

Lastly, there is no Harlander in the book, dying from syphilis or any other disease.

In del Toro’s version of the tale, William survives childhood and is set to marry Elizabeth. Both are taken out on the same day. One, tragically, by mistake. The brilliant auteur director also opts to leave out the iceflow scene.

It Works, Regardless

Regardless of del Toro’s poetic licentious decisions aside, it works. The idea of focussing on the Gothic nature of the book was spot on. *It could be argued, quite successfully, that the teenage Mary Shelley is the “godmother” of the Gothic genre. Millions of women the world over adore Gothic Romance. A genre that could not exist without Shelley.*

Frankenstein avoids the horror genre. Although, one could argue that the very idea of using dead body parts is, in fact, rather horrible. Add to this the attempted murder of his creation and we do touch base pretty firmly with horror.

The film itself looks stunning. The sets, the costumes and the scenery are beyond beautiful. Consider the castle, the captain’s cabin interior, the medical assembly, the outside markets, et al. These have all been done with impeccable attention to detail.

Mia Goth’s gowns are something that the late Edith Head could have put together.

Costumes aside, the look of the creature is something that has allowed this Gothic presentation of Frankenstein to outshine even the old James Whale version way back in 1931. A film we are told that terrified those long ago audiences. *We are told that the flower scene with the little girl in Whale’s retelling of Shelley’s book, was edited. They allegedly removed the creature throwing the child into the water. However, without that scene, audiences imaginations ran rampant with their own ideas of what happened. There is a moment that I felt del Toro referenced that original film event.*

The Verdict

The move to have the two main characters recite their version of events works well. Unfortunately, the decision to let William reach adulthood and for Elizabeth to be killed by accident, is a puzzle to me. The creature murdering a child and the helpless bride, Victor’s not William’s loses the abject horror implied by Shelley. As Stephen King points out in Danse Macabre, when the creature tells Victor that he will be there on Victor’s wedding night, one shudders.

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is a long running sumptuous feast for the eye and mind. Running just shy of 2 and a half hours, the film nonetheless races by. It certainly did not feel that long when watching the film.

This Gothic treat earns a gorgeous 5 stars out of 5. Come Oscar time, this should garner a plethora of nominations. Score, SFX, set design, acting, et al. Frankenstein is streaming on Netflix. Gird your loins and settle in to watch this long running masterpiece.

The Trailer