Title – Frankenstein (2025)

Director – Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth)

Cast – Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, David Bradley

Plot – A reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, following Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s (Isaac) work to halt death in its tracks, leading him to create a “monster” in the form of The Creature (Elordi).  

“I thought, this was the way of the world. It would hunt you and kill you just for being who you are”

Review by Eddie on 13/11/2025

Teaming up with streaming heavyweight Netflix to deliver a $120 million dollar reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic monster novel Frankenstein, avid fans of the original source material beware, this is not a version that intends to stick vehemently to the text, Oscar winning director Guillermo del Toro has found that directional spark that has been missing from most of his recent films to deliver one of the year’s most breathtakingly beautiful and at the same time harsh feature film epics.

His most notable film since his 2006 masterwork Pan’s Labyrinth and far better than his bizarrely overrated critical darling from 2017 The Shape of Water while at the same time being far more grandiose than his underrated 2021 remake of Nightmare Alley, Frankenstein allows del Toro to go all in on his vision of Shelley’s famed source material, gifting us a flawed but often spectacular creation that may be oddly short on pure horror that the director often excels at but has much to offer in many other facets.

Clocking in at a nicely paced two and a half hours, del Toro has allotted himself more than enough time to go deep into Shelley’s world and in turn that of Oscar Isaac’s determined and arguably demented Dr. Victor Frankenstein as he attempts to outwit death itself in his crafting of Jacob Elordi’s beaten and battered “The Creature”, neither man nor monster who forms the beating heart of del Toro’s focus.

Told through flashbacks that are delivered to the audience by storytelling both from Frankenstein and Creature, there’s a lot going on in del Toro’s vision that at times struggles to bind all the various human and personal interest elements into the larger scope of the film with Mia Goth’s Elizabeth and her relationship with both Victor and The Creature a noticeable missed opportunity while it doesn’t always feel as though the maker vs his creation element is as well-rounded as it could be as Isaac and Elordi’s strained relationship forces the films two main characters to war with one another.

In this area del Toro’s film finds some of its greatest strengths in both Isaac’s turn and Elordi’s career defining supporting turn as The Creature.

Both performers are proven entities in Hollywood but with Elordi still on the rise, his full body incarnation of Shelley’s famed creation is very different to the bolts in the neck association we have with the misunderstood being and its a turn that should be very much in the awards running over the final months of 2025 and early months of 2026.

It’s a hugely impressive and memorable turn from the Australian ex-pat who has been putting together a great period over the past few years, that appears to have culminated here when he took over Creature duties from a once-casted Andrew Garfield.

Bringing a significant presence to proceedings while acting with his mind, body and voice, this is an all-encompassing turn from Elordi who takes the film to some great heights in his creature focussed segments.

Found elsewhere in del Toro’s no expense spared affair, even building a life-size ship for the occasion, is some stunning camera work from Dan Laustsen, ensuring Frankenstein is a genuine visual delight, while famed composer Alexandre Desplat delivers some of his best work in years in helping create Frankenstein’s mood and appeal, one that on multiple occasions feels like the type of gothic experience a prime Tim Burton might have conjured up.

A film that takes a fresh approach to a story that’s been told now for over 200 years, Frankenstein is the perfect moulding of source with a modern-day storyteller who gives us all what we’ve been waiting for more of since 2006, marking this Netflix original down as one of the service providers greatest successes yet in the feature film space.

Final Say –

Highly likely to be a major awards player in the coming months, Frankenstein is a significant piece of work from both Netflix and Guillermo del Toro that allows its two leads to shine in roles they relish bringing to life.

4 blunderbusses out of 5