Frankenstein: It's more than Alive, it's Thriving

 


Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein is one of those rare films that you don't want to look away at all while watching it. The movie has your full attention and you're completely engrossed in the narrative. We all have at least some understanding of the story of Frankenstein, so I won't provide a summary of the storyline. Let's instead dive right into why this move is so effective.

It's tough to know where to begin with Frankenstein, dear reader. I suppose I'll start with how the film looks. Frankenstein is true cinematic art. The set designs, cinematography, lighting, etc. are all impeccable. The visuals can tell the story as much as the characters and dialogue can. This is no shade to the people in Frankenstein to be clear. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I was impressed with all of the performances. Frankenstein (Oscar Issac), The Creature (Jacob Elordi) and Elizabeth (Mia Goth) especially are all characters that you understand very well. You get the full picture of Frankenstein and The Creature's journeys and no moments or lines from either character feel wasted. I believe you'll be touched by a lot of what occurs with The Creature. If you don't feel empathetic towards his plight then I don't know what to tell you.

Certain themes and ideas including love, forgiveness, meaning and life itself are explored brilliantly. Frankenstein will have you thinking for a while afterwards and I encourage you to it with someone else so you have someone to talk to about all of it. This is a dark fantasy horror movie, but I assure you that it's an approachable watch. There are intense, scary, unsettling and brutal moments but they don't feel gratuitous. If I had to estimate it, there's only about five minutes of the total runtime that involve these kind of elements. In closing, I'm hoping you decide to watch Frankenstein and maybe even read Mary Shelley's original novel too. I've yet to read the novel, but plan on doing so. Frankenstein is a masterpiece that is well worth your time.

Rating:


Green Light

Frankenstein   149 minutes    R    On Netflix

My 2025 Top Movies: The Ballad of Wallis Island, F1 and Frankenstein


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