Reviewing Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” Adaptation
Marshall Alvarado | Nov. 18, 2025
Guillermo del Toro’s lovely adaptation of Mary Shelley's “Frankenstein” just made my top ten, cause wow.
When I initially heard that a “Frankenstein” film was being made, I wasn’t particularly interested, as I had never consumed any media surrounding the classic tale. However, when I saw a familiar face, cast as Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Issac), I immediately set out to watch the film. Another draw was its director, Mexican filmmaker, author and artist Guillermo Del Toro. Del Toro is known for his dark, fantastical films, such as “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006), “The Shape of Water” (2017) and my personal favorite, “Hellboy” (2004).
“Frankenstein” (2025) is an adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, “Frankenstein” or ‘The Modern Prometheus,' although it has its differences. The movie is divided into a prelude and two halves; one where Victor Frankenstein shares his story of how and why he created the monster, and one that follows The Creature (Jacob Elordi) and his story of discovering the world around him.
The movie follows a tragic story of creation vs. creator, seeming reminiscent of the cycle of generational abuse. Victor Frankenstein creates a sentient creature that looks for acceptance and understanding in his life, and then becomes blinded with obsession and guilt and tries to kill his creation.
For me, “Frankenstein” was a great hit, with all of the actors playing their parts well. Elordi deserves a huge shout-out, not just for enduring 11 hours to get into his character’s SFX makeup but also for the amount of care and understanding he held for The Creature. It felt as if he was at a different stage of development in every shot, going from a creature just barely discovering the world around him to an emotional understanding being, before becoming a rage-filled, vengeful hunter.
Issac’s Victor Frankenstein showed a good recreation of the concept of carrying and passing down the sins of one's father. His character’s story begins with resentment and a desire to prove that he was better than his own father, able to conquer death and recreate life. Once this new life begins, Frankenstein grows impatient and resentful of the creature’s lack of intelligence and fear of his creator. This ultimately leads Frankenstein to harm The Creature in the hopes of it showing intelligence, specifically the ability to communicate, just as his father did to him at the beginning of the film when he couldn’t remember his studies.
Mia Goth gives a balletic performance as both Elizabeth Harlandar and the very subtle role of Claire Frankenstein. Her kind and impactful presence as Claire gave way to be the very motivation that led Frankenstein to give life to the creature, and her gentle nature and empathy towards the creature, as well as Harlandar's help, aided the creature in understanding empathy and kindness. Goth played an important role in both halves of the movie; she represented the good of life, contrasting Frankenstein’s obsession with control.
As far as horror movies go, I wouldn’t classify “Frankenstein” (2025) as a horror film, though it was definitely a gory and bloody film, not pulling punches when showing Victor’s process in creating the creature from the parts of the departed or the way the creature confronted threats within the film with his inhuman strength.
Despite the goriness that not many are fans of or the way “Frankenstein” (2025) showcased Victor as the villain of the story, I personally loved the film; it was a good retelling of the classic tale. The historical accuracy in the fashion and settings within the film made it feel authentic and immersive. The sets were also meticulously built by hand instead of greenscreened, which added more of a raw, realistic feel to the film while I watched, but these are just my thoughts. I could talk more about the message within the film and how impactful it was, but let’s not get all teary-eyed. I encourage everyone to watch the film if they aren’t too squeamish with gore or are easily driven to spiral when faced with existential questions.