Del Toro Brings the Gore and Sex Appeal
Guillermo Del Toro seems to be in the doing-dream-projects phase of his filmography. After a varied career with some incredible fairytale-like stories alongside sci fi and fantasy films, he’s taking on the classics with Netflix. First came Pinocchio, now he’s had a go at Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (perhaps Moby Dick next?).
Oscar Isaac plays Victor Frankenstein, the scientist raised by a strict father to know everything about the human anatomy and now obsessed with re-animating dead human bodies. Isaac is solid and suits the mad scientist role nicely. He meets a man who is willing to back his cause and fund the experiments (Christoph Waltz, always a pleasure to watch), and falls for his brother’s fiancé (Mia Goth, absorbing but a little underused).
Most will know what happens next from either the book or the other film adaptations – Victor successfully sews a bunch of body parts together and brings his creation to life. Jacob Elordi plays the monster and plays him very well, especially the earlier scenes where he’s mostly mute. Though still somewhat grotesque, this must be the hottest version of the monster we have seen. Despite the stitches he’s still tall, dark and handsome with a ripped body; it’s an interesting take on it, and very much aligned with the tall, slender monsters we see in modern horror.
I appreciate the true-to-the-novel approach, including the monster’s perspective. It is a nice touch that captures Shelley’s masterful shift to give the monster emotional grounding and evoke sympathy for him. Otherwise, we have some interesting diversions from the novel, namely the monster being invincible (even explosives seem to have no effect). It’s been a while since I read the novel, but I don’t think he was a superhero/villain. There is also quite a bit of gore, with body parts and animals being torn to shreds – not for the faint hearted. The novel themes, such as God/creation and alienation are all dealt with and add some depth to the shimmering surface of the movie.
As far as the visuals and styling go, it is what we come to expect from Del Toro, with heavy CGI that at times looks colourful and vibrant, if video game-like, and some questionable bits (come on, haven’t we got the budget to do better sheep and wolves?). The pacing is good and mostly keeps the viewer entertained; plenty of action. I can’t say I felt bored during the 2-hour 20-minute runtime.
Overall, this is a better adaptation than the last true novel adaptation starring De Niro as the monster (1994, directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also played Victor), if a little more Netflix, home-popcorn entertainment style.
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