'Frankenstein' Review: Jacob Elordi Is Brilliant as the Tragic Monster in Guillermo del Toro's Gorgeous Slog

Guillermo del Toro has been actively trying to make his version of Frankenstein for about 20 to 25 years, saying this is a film he’s thought about making since he was a kid. Del Toro has been mulling this project over for about 50 years, and his love of monster movies has been clear ever since his first film, 1992’s Cronos. His love of Mary Shelley’s novel has popped up in nearly all his work, from the Gothic romance of Crimson Peak to the closest he’s come to making a Universal monster movie with the Hellboy franchise. Frankenstein has always been a part of del Toro’s work, and after an entire lifetime of dreaming about it, his passion project has finally been released.

At the North American premiere of Frankenstein at the Toronto International Film Festival, del Toro mentioned how long it took to get the film made the way he wanted it, and this is that vision. But when you consider just how long del Toro has had this concept in his mind and how dedicated he’s been to making this with his vision intact, one has to wonder how willing the writer and director is to alter his vision for the good of the film itself. Maybe something sounded great in his head for all those years, but it isn’t nearly as effective once it’s on the screen.

On one hand, it’s fantastic that a director like del Toro gets to make his dream come true, working at an epic level we’ve never seen him at before, to adapt this iconic story. But on the other hand, with questionable pacing and a desire to keep as much of the original story intact — albeit while still adding his own flair — Frankenstein shows that sometimes you have to kill your darlings instead of reviving them.

‘Frankenstein’ Is Faithful to the Book, but Guillermo del Toro Still Puts His Own Twist on It

Frankenstein begins in the Arctic, as a boat full of sailors is trapped in the ice when they see a creature and a man chasing each other. Supposedly left for dead, the boat takes on Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), who decides to tell them what’s going on. It doesn’t take long, however, until the creature after him (Jacob Elordi) is ripping apart men just to get to Frankenstein. Once the creature is lost under the ice, Frankenstein decides to tell his story.

Frankenstein has taken on the task of trying to bring the dead back. He’s found a way to animate the deceased for a short period, but with the help of a wealthy investor, Harlander (Christoph Waltz) and the younger Frankenstein brother, William (Felix Kammerer), Victor attempts to bring a creature of his own creation to life. Piecing together the bodies of corpses, he makes his creature and is able to give life to him, but he soon finds that the monster isn’t the scientific discovery he hoped it would be, frustrated by his inability to speak and apparent lack of intelligence. In one of del Toro’s more clever choices in the story, we get to see half of this story from the perspective of Dr. Frankenstein, and the other half from the creature.

Del Toro Always Knows How to Make His Movies Look Stunning

If there’s one aspect del Toro nails in all of his films, it’s the visuals and style. Frankenstein looks absolutely gorgeous, with massive sets that you want to explore, sprawling landscapes, and incredible costume and makeup work. This is a visual feast, and it wouldn’t be shocking at all if Frankenstein ends up sweeping in many of the technical awards at the Oscars. Del Toro shoots Frankenstein to make his characters look gigantic, amongst worlds that are even grander. The scope of Frankenstein is unlike anything del Toro has done before, and it’s wonderful to see the director on this level with this material. And yes, Frankenstein is getting a theatrical release before it heads to Netflix, but a film that looks this good deserves to be seen on a big screen.

Naturally, del Toro’s creature design is also magnificent. Del Toro is able to play in horror here and there, especially with the first attempts at bringing the dead back to life with some truly shocking creatures. However, instead of just making whatever creatures he wants, del Toro has to create a monster who also feels decidedly human, and becomes more so as the film progresses. The way Elordi’s gentle creature evolves, and the more he learns and grows, is often quite powerful. Del Toro is tasked with crafting a creature made of picked-apart body parts, sewn together, then electrocuted into life, into a living, breathing person who is struggling with his existence. Especially in the softer moments, as when he first meets William’s fiancée, Elizabeth (Mia Goth), or his first excursion into the real world, del Toro makes the creature a sympathetic and lovely character, unlike anyone else in the film.

‘Frankenstein’ Could’ve Used a Tighter Edit to Bring Del Toro’s Vision to Life

Image via Netflix

But when watching Frankenstein, one does start to wonder what, if anything, was left on the cutting room floor. Del Toro really takes his time with certain parts of this story, like with Victor trying to teach the creature to say something more than “Victor,” or a segment in which the creature befriends a blind man (David Bradley) that overstays its welcome. The pacing here bogs down what is, for the most part, a solid adaptation, but it’s as though del Toro wants to make sure every part of this story he loves that is important to him made it into the film, regardless of whether or not it’s what is best for the overall story. Del Toro absolutely has his vision for what this should be, but it also feels like taking a half-hour out of Frankenstein could’ve only helped.

It’s also very obvious that del Toro knows this story deep in his bones and how to approach this, but he still makes clever changes that make sense, like a more questionable childhood for Frankenstein, or the way he plays off the Bride of Frankenstein concept. There are solid ideas throughout Frankenstein; they could just have used a bit more tightening. Even with how bloated the film can feel, some characters still could’ve used more fleshing out. Isaac is quite good as Dr. Frankenstein, but beyond lashing out at the monster in the same way his abusive father did to him, as well as his flamboyant way of dressing, this characterization of the doctor isn’t that big of a change from what we’ve seen before. Similarly, characters like Mia Goth’s Elizabeth and Christoph Waltz’s Harlander each get a few quick scenes to try and build up who their characters are, but they ultimately seem relatively pointless.

One of the best choices del Toro makes here is to show the story from the viewpoint of the creature, and because of this, Jacob Elordi really gets a chance to shine. His evolution over the course of the film is beautifully presented, as he deals with his “merciless life,” as he calls it. This is almost certainly Elordi’s biggest acting challenge so far, and he excels at making the creature an empathetic character who doesn’t know his purpose and is struggling to make sense of everything that’s happening to him. If there’s one major improvement from other adaptations of Shelley’s novel, it’s the way that Elordi plays the creature with real care and empathy, even when the film is a bit of a slog.

Like a lot of passion projects from great directors, it is truly great to see del Toro finally get to make the film he wanted. No, this isn’t at the Megalopolis level of director passion projects, but it’s also not Mad Max: Fury Road either. Del Toro’s care and appreciation for this story go a long way and make this an intriguing watch, even though the pacing is very rough around the edges. At the post-screening Q&A, del Toro said that finally making Frankenstein felt like the end of an era for him, and while it’s lovely that he got to bring his creature to life, Frankenstein makes us ready to see what his next creation could behold.

Frankenstein will get a theatrical release on October 17, followed by its global release on Netflix on November 7.

Frankenstein

Guillermo del Toro’s passion project is beautifully crafted, but can be quite exhausting to get through.

Release Date: October 17, 2025
Runtime: 149 Minutes

Pros & Cons

Gullermo del Toro truly knows this story well and brings it to life in beautiful fashion.
Jacob Elordi is fantastic as the creature, bringing empathy to this monster.
Del Toro excels at working on a grand scale like this visually.