del Toro constructs a new world of “Frankenstein”

by GRACE WAGNER

Associate Editor

Watching Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” was an intense and surprisingly emotional experience in all the best ways. From the opening scene, I was completely pulled into the dark, gothic world he crafted. 

Every frame is dripping with atmosphere and layered with detail. del Toro’s sets feel almost alive. The flicker of candlelight across the lab equipment, the fog drifting lazily over the graveyards, the cluttered little corners of crumbling rooms—it all gives the impression of stepping straight into a living, breathing painting.

The performances in this movie are fantastic and they carry the film’s emotional weight. 

Oscar Isaac’s Victor Frankenstein captures the character’s obsessive mania with incredible commitment. At times, he pushes the intensity to its limits, but that only makes his quieter, more vulnerable moments land harder. 

Jacob Elordi, as the Creature, is easily the heart of the movie. He brings a disarming tenderness to the role. Lonely, confused, desperate to understand himself and the world. His performance makes the Creature not just sympathetic, but deeply human. For me, it’s his strongest work so far.

Mia Goth is another standout and her characters add a surprising amount of emotional texture to the film. As Elizabeth, William Frankenstein’s fiancée, she brings warmth, tension and a fragile kind of hope to the story. Goth has this unique ability to balance innocence with an undercurrent of danger and del Toro uses that quality beautifully here. 

She becomes a moral anchor in Victor’s descent, someone whose presence reminds us of the life he could have chosen and whose absence magnifies the tragedy of his choices. Every scene she’s in feels more grounded, more alive. Her performance gives the film an emotional counterweight that keeps it from slipping too far into darkness.

Visually, the film is breathtaking. The sets, costumes and cinematography are so rich and mesmerising that I often caught myself staring at the screen, momentarily forgetting about the plot. 

The lab scenes crackle, literally and emotionally, with wild energy. The graveyards have that eerie, beautiful, almost fairytale quality that del Toro does so well. Even the small everyday spaces feel textured and real. The score ties everything together—haunting and dramatic without ever overwhelming the story.

The film isn’t without its flaws. At nearly two and a half hours, the pacing can feel slow, especially in the first half before the Creature’s creation. Some exposition feels a bit heavy-handed and there are definitely moments where silence or action would have spoken louder than the dialogue. 

I was also surprised by some of the deviations from Mary Shelley’s original novel, choices that occasionally flattened Victor’s complexity rather than expanding it. This was especially surprising considering del Toro’s fascination with the infamous author herself.

But these drawbacks don’t overshadow what does work. The emotional core of the film, being Victor’s unravelling obsession, the Creature’s aching loneliness and the humanity running through all of del Toro’s monsters, hits deeply. 

Goth’s presence adds warmth and emotional clarity, while Elordi brings heartbreaking sincerity and Isaac delivers a compelling portrait of ambition turned toxic.

There were scenes that genuinely made me hold my breath and moments that hit surprisingly hard. And long after the credits rolled, I found myself still thinking about the characters, especially the Creature and what he represents.

“Frankenstein” may not be perfect, but it is a visually stunning, emotionally resonant film that demonstrates why del Toro remains one of the most captivating filmmakers working today. It’s gorgeous, haunting and full of unforgettable performances. For me, it’s easily one of the standout films of the year and absolutely worth watching.