I just recently watched the new Frankenstein movie on Netflix which is Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation, and the latest adaptation, of the classic 1818 book of the same name, written by Mary Shelley. The book has also been adapted in film many other times before, with the most popular ones being Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935) both directed by James Whale.

Guillermo Del Toro is a director that has been well-known for creating movies with gothic aesthetics, and blending them with stories inspired by stuff like fairytales and horror. Before watching Frankenstein, his only movie I had seen was Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), which is one of my favorite movies. I also watched his animated Pinocchio adaptation from 2022, which I liked too, just before watching Frankenstein. Because of the book’s classic status, its influence on the gothic and horror genres, and Del Toro’s reputation as a gothic and horror filmmaker, Frankenstein was a film many fans of all 3 of these were looking forward to. I saw some people who read the book and saw the movie saying online that it’s very different from the book, but also that it’s a good movie on its own, and that it is an interesting retelling of the classic story. I have not read the book, but I am a fan of his other movies, and other gothic, fantasy, and horror movies, so I was pretty excited to watch this movie, and I really loved it!

I really enjoyed so many aspects of it, such as the acting, directing, cinematography, storytelling, dialogue, and costume design. The main cast included Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, and Felix Kammerer, and my favorite performance was Jacob Elordi’s as the creature, which I think is one of the best acting performances I’ve seen in a movie from the past couple of years, with many emotional and tragic scenes, playing off the other actors so well, playing off the effects of his character so well, and in general, every scene with him has such good tension and emotion that make them so thrilling to watch, I also really enjoyed all the other performances in this movie, especially Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein.
Like I said earlier, Guillermo Del Toro was a director many people thought was extremely suited to make a movie like this, and I think he did so well with it, with so much good camera work, visual effects, set design, and editing in this movie that makes it so immersive. There is also so much beautiful scenery, and amazing colors that look so cinematic, and really help emphasize the darkness and tragedy of the movie. I really enjoyed the story too, with so many great themes and dialogue representing death, creating life, loss, and human nature, and I think the relationships and conflicts between the characters are also really well done and add so much good drama and entertainment to the movie.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. I think it’s a beautiful mix of tragic storytelling, immersive filmmaking, compelling drama, and amazing work from everyone involved, especially the actors, director, and visual artists. It definitely made me like Guillermo Del Toro as a director even more, and made me more interested in watching more films by him in the future. It’s also my favorite I’ve seen from this year so far, though I haven’t seen many, and there are more I plan to watch. I would definitely highly recommend this movie if it sounds like something you would like based on this article!