Guillermo Del Toro loves monster stories and fabulous, mythical creatures, which he has created in films like PAN’s LABYRINTH or his Oscar winning THE SHAPE OF WATER. His fascination with science and technology often plays a role too. Now the Mexican director has fulfilled his longtime dream which unites all of his passions with a lavish new interpretation of Mary Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein” – backed by Netflix, but in its grandiose staging is clearly meant for the cinema.

Del Toro’s reverence for the original text is inscribed in the imposing epic, yet the film does carry out an important change in perspective: he gives the self-made monster a heart and the opportunity to remember his experience after the escape from Frankenstein’s lab from his own perspective. The creature is played by Jacob Elordi with a lot of verve and an unusual penchant for sentimentality.

In the first part, however, Oscar Isaac's scientific free spirit presents his version of events: the gifted young Victor Frankenstein was previously mistreated by his strict father (Charles Dance), which ultimately encouraged his son to want to surpass the renowned doctor in his research. But his godless belief that death can be overcome makes him an outsider in the medical community of Edinburgh – until he actually manages to revive a lifeless body with the help of an electrical charge. The tangible deep despair of the creature about his unwanted existence builds a sharp contrast to the excessive arrogance of the creator.

In Del Toro's novelized version of the classic, the central question is who the "real" monster is in the end. The director is biased from the start – taking a lot of time with his anguished creature and neglecting the characterization of interesting supporting characters like Christoph Waltz as the corrupt financier and Mia Goth as his gentle niece. But Del Toro's consistently virtuoso visual language skillfully helps to overcome such narrative deficiencies.

Pamela Jahn (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy