Published: October 27, 2025
Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein is here…sort of. The two and a half hour film, produced by Netflix, is set to hit streaming early next month on November 7th. However, the streamer has started experimenting a bit with theatrical releases, finding great success with K-pop Demon Hunters and the Knives Out movies. Netflix even plans to release the series finale of Stranger Things in 350 theaters across the country this New Year’s Eve. Frankenstein has followed suit and has also received a limited theatrical release. Very limited in fact. I had to drive an hour to go watch this, but it was well worth it. While I think it could still be enjoyable from the comfort of your own home, Frankenstein is a cinematic masterpiece that deserves to be seen on the big screen.
While I haven’t seen any other Frankenstein movies or even read Mary Shelley’s original novel, I went into this knowing the basic story just through pop culture exposure. I thoroughly enjoyed the period piece aspects of this film. Usually, the Victorian era depicted in film and television can be quite boring, but this was a reminder that it can be incredibly charming when done right. I’m not sure if I’d classify this as a “horror movie.” It certainly has horror elements-plenty of body horror and moments of gore. I will say I didn’t love seeing violence against animals, but I suppose it was necessary to the story. I’d describe the film as more of a gothic horror-ish character study.
The characters are the real highlight. The film is split into two parts, two perspectives – Victor Frankenstein and The Creature. I’ve been a fan of Oscar Isaac for a long time, and he was one of my big selling points on this film. He is just such a character actor, and such a talented one at that. He even has a few small moments of humor through the film that brought some nice levity. I love following Victor’s journey through the first half of this film, seeing his passion, his drive to undo death. His obsession with death takes over his whole life. It’s a slow downfall, but a very inevitable one, especially as we switch to the Creature’s perspective and see that Victor is the true monster.
Originally, Andrew Garfield, one of my favorite actors, was cast as the monster in this film. Unfortunately, due to scheduling, he had to leave the project and was replaced by Jacob Elordi. I think most people underestimate Jacob Elordi because they just see him as that guy from The Kissing Booth movies or Euphoria. I’ll admit I’m sort of in that camp, especially after seeing Priscilla, where he was good, but it definitely still felt like Jacob Elordi playing Elvis. Here, though, Jacob Elordi IS AN ACTOR. This man transformed, and he became the monster. It may actually be the best performance in the film. The character is just so sympathetic after unwillingly being brought back to life by Victor, and unmercilessly having to live on endlessly without the ability to die. I love stories like this where you see the pure innocence and wonder when he is first born. The creature is discovering and learning new things every second. Something as small as putting a leaf in water and watching it float down the stream is the most fun in the world to him. And once he develops and learns, most of all, he just wants companionship. It’s a very beautiful story.
Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein is now playing in select theaters and streaming on Netflix on November 7th.
