Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has been adapted time and time again. Written when Shelley was just 18 years-old, the novel has been celebrated as the creation of science fiction. Fitting given the themes present within, themes that director Guillermo del Toro masters beautifully in his 2025 adaptation of Shelley’s work.
Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) is a man who thinks he can conquer death. Plagued by his mother’s death when he was a child, Victor makes it his life mission to bring a man to life as his own creation, proving that death is not as permanent as one may think. The gothic tale fits perfectly within del Toro’s style and the new adaptation ends up leaving its audience breathless. All because of one thing: The Creature.
At the heart of Shelley’s story is a battle of wills between Victor and his creation. In del Toro’s adaptation, the Creature (Jacob Elordi) is the embodiment of humanity. He is soft, sweet, and lost in the world without guidance. No one will help him and he’s judged by everyone, even his creator. And yet del Toro does something beautiful with his take on Frankenstein.
Elizabeth (Mia Goth) is just as sweet as the Creature, a woman who wants to know of science and the world and yet lets her calming energy soothe the men around her. It makes her dynamic with the Creature something special and that mixed with del Toro’s visionary lens, the two paint Elizabeth in one of the most important takes on the character.
Frankenstein is a story we all know and making it feel fresh and new is nearly impossible. And yet del Toro’s work understands the deeper themes present in Shelley’s novel and captures the essence of her work in stunning moments, all to remind us how to be human.
“We can be monsters together”
One of the things I have often found upsetting about adaptations of Frankenstein is how they focus on Victor. The man and his quest for greatness and what playing God can do. But Shelley’s novel is so much more than that. The novel switches perspectives, telling you the story of both Victor and his creation and Victor admits in the film that the story is some fact but all true.
But the one theme I was captivated by in del Toro’s adaptation was that of the Creature’s quest for companionship. Often, the “monster” is what is displayed to us in stories of Frankenstein. People think we want the science, the rage, but what is really captivating about this story is the heart that the Creature has despite how Victor treats him. And that’s what del Toro and Elordi really nail in this movie.
Elordi towers over all but there is never a real fear that he’s going to do something wrong. Instead, you feel for him and want him to find the love and companionship he so desperately craves and it weighs on you as you leave the cinema.
Frankenstein is a story about a lot of things and I think that del Toro’s adaptation is one of the only ones to understand everything Shelley was giving to us with her novel and it was breathtaking to see.
(featured image: Ken Woroner/Netflix)
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