Movie Review: “Frankenstein” (2025)

By: Lucie Kuyler

This October, we saw a new adaptation of “Frankenstein” directed by Guillermo del Toro. Del Toro has directed movies like “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Crimson Peak,” “Nightmare Alley” and “Pinocchio.” For those of you who aren’t familiar with the story’s plot, it is about a scientist named Victor Frankenstein, whose life’s goal is to create artificial life from body parts. Frankenstein’s efforts result in a tragic, despised creature committed to vengeance against his abusive creator. Like Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, the film explored complex themes like the consequences of creating life, the pain of others' abuse and the ableism of society.

The iconic 1931 version, although it has always held a special place in most people’s hearts, actually doesn’t bear much resemblance to Shelley’s novel. In the 2025 version, del Toro tried to stick to the book. Many characters stayed the same, such as Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), the creature (Jacob Elordi), Elizabeth (Mia Goth), William Frankenstein (Felix Kammerer) and the Captain (Lars Mikkelsen). 

Although it is commonly conceptualized as a horror movie, the production team leaned more into the genre of science fiction by developing sympathy for the creature. An opinion journalist for “The New York Times” argued, “This ‘Frankenstein’ is unmistakably del Toro’s, and it bears every single one of his fingerprints. Lush, melodramatic, sweepingly romantic.” 

Reviews of the movie were largely positive. “Finding humanity in one of cinema’s most iconic monsters, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is a lavish epic that gets its most invigorating volts from Jacob Elordi’s standout performance,” said a reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes. However, there was also negative criticism “This new take on Mary Shelley’s icon doesn’t even come close to equaling James Whale’s masterpiece. It barely beats Branagh, even,” claimed one reviewer. Although you could take either side, I personally agree that it was a fantastic movie that brought an interesting twist on father-son relationships and could even be taken as a coming of age story because of its raw depiction of the creature’s young mind developing, its perception of the world and of roles in society.

The visuals are commonly commended and are what draw most people in. The Gothic atmosphere is very present, and a wide variety of colors differentiates the movie from most adaptations. The film features a lot of symbolism and homages, such as Elizabeth’s wedding dress having similar bandages to the creature’s bandages to show her emotional connection to him. Much like the wedding dress, other costumes were beautiful, playing around with different colors and fabrics. 

With the visuals, costumes, casting and story elements, “Frankenstein” (2025) captivates audiences in its own unique way. It is safe to say that this story was made for Guillermo del Toro to adapt, and he truly made it his. Although some viewers were upset by it because it strays from James Whale’s version, it is very authentic to the novel. If this review has sparked your interest, it is streaming on Netflix.