The arrival of Frankensteinthe long-awaited adaptation of Guillermo del Toro for Netflixmarks a milestone in the filmography of the Mexican filmmaker and in the history of reinterpretations of the classic by Mary Shelley. The film, which premieres on November 7 and already has a final trailer available, brings together a cast headed by Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Charles Dance and Christoph Waltz.
Far from limiting himself to a literal translation of the novel published anonymously on January 1, 1818, Del Toro proposes a personal and emotional reading of the tragedy of Victor Frankenstein and his creature. The Oscar-winning director has stated that “Frankenstein was a religion since I was a child,” and that his fascination began with Boris Karloff’s performance in the 1931 film, and then deepened with Shelley’s original work. And then when I saw Boris Karloff on the screen, I understood what a saint or a messiah looked like. So I’ve been following the creature since I was a child,” del Toro said.
The film explores the relationship between parents and children, innocence and monstrosity, and the madness inherent in the act of creating. Del Toro allows both Victor Frankenstein, played by Oscar Isaaclike the creature, embodied by Jacob Elordi, present their versions of the events, although the director’s gaze leans towards the monster, stripping him of the moral complexities that Shelley gave him and presenting him as an innocent, impulsive being with superhuman strength. Far from being a simple killer, this creature is capable of skinning, ripping out jaws, and throwing grown men with terrifying ease, adding a disturbing nuance to its innocence.
The maternal figure, represented in both cases by Mia Goth It appears as an obvious metaphor for the impossibility of protection in the face of the tragic fate of the protagonists. Del Toro emphasizes that “All men are products and victims of their own fathers.”and that neither Victor nor his creation act without reason, but rather They are condemned by their heritage and circumstances.
The gothic and maximalist undertones of the film manifest in every aspect of the production. Production designer Tamara Deverell and costume supervisor Kate Hawley have created sets and costumes that evoke everything from Victor’s luxurious childhood estate to the makeshift laboratory in an abandoned irrigation plant. The soundtrack, composed by Alexandre Desplat, provides an epic dimension that enhances the emotional intensity of the work. Everything in “Frankenstein” is excessive: the duration, the emotions, the empathy, the anguish, the rage and the regret.
Jacob Elordi, in charge of giving life to the creature, took on the challenge of interpreting one of the most iconic monsters in literature and cinema. In several sequences, his performance is almost silent, while in others, the creature expresses himself eloquently, always under a complex layer of prosthetics. The actor immersed himself in the study of butoh, a form of Japanese dance with slow, theatrical movements, and turned to books suggested by Del Toro to understand the perspective of a newborn being, fearful and in need of guidance. Elordi even took inspiration from his own golden retriever dog to give the character a genuine innocence.: “There is a true innocence in the way he moves and the way he loves,” he said.
Elordi also became a student of horror films and previous adaptations of Frankenstein, which allowed him to discover the dimension of cult and comfort that these monsters have represented for generations of lonely viewers. “These monsters are friends of many people and were saviors for many children who were alone. I had not realized that there was a whole world behind monster movies beyond them being horror movies. There is almost a religion around it. “I have a deep reverence for those films,” Elordi said.
The atmosphere on set was fundamental for the actor, who highlighted the camaraderie with Oscar Isaac and the sensitivity of Mia Goth, interpreter of Elizabeth. “It was great to walk in and have him respect what I was doing right away. It was very comforting because there’s something unsettling about being the youngest in the movie, and in a movie of this magnitude, and also having something to say artistically. But I couldn’t have had a better dance partner than Isaac. He’s been an inspiring performer and someone I’ve followed religiously for a long time, so being able to do this with him was incredible,” Elordi said.
The gestation of this project has been a decades-long process for del Toro, who conceived his version of Frankenstein as a deeply personal work, set against the backdrop of the Crimean War. Filming, which spanned 100 days, began in Toronto in early 2024. and continued in various locations in the United Kingdom.
“Since I was a child, from my first Super 8 film until now, I have dreamed of making two films, Pinocchio and Frankenstein. I thought we were telling the same story: what it means to be human, what it means to be framed in a life by eternity and death, both forces. “I wanted to make Frankenstein as personal as possible,” said Del Toro.
The director has insisted that the film seeks show imperfect characters and claim the right to imperfection and to mutual understanding in oppressive circumstances.
When asked if artificial intelligence could be the contemporary Frankenstein’s monster, Del Toro responded forcefully: “Artificial intelligence doesn’t scare me. I’m scared of natural stupidity, which is much more abundant.”
More than two centuries after the publication of Shelley’s novel, Del Toro offers a definitive and passionate version of the story, revisiting the myth to investigate the meaning of humanity and misunderstanding, both from the perspective of creator and creature, father and son.
