Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein Is A Little Different Than Expected, But Nails An Important Theme

I am a huge fan of Guillermo del Toro. Therefore, naturally, I was ecstatic to watch Frankenstein. He does gothic films very well. One of his best, and one of my favorites, is Crimson Peak. It’s a romantic gothic that I expected to have similar attributes to Frankenstein.

I got to see del Toro’s latest film at the 61st Chicago International Film Festival and enjoyed it. However, I noticed it's not a completely faithful adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic. I read the novel in college, so my plot details are a bit hazy, but I remember enough to notice changes.

However, I think fans of the novel will be pleased. It’s a highly anticipated book adaptation for a reason and delivers. It gets the soul of the novel right. That’s what matters the most.

Warning: Frankenstein spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.

I Love How Frankenstein Really Drives Home That Victor Is The Monster

From memory, I remember Victor kind of being remorseful and guilt-ridden by the creature he created. It tormented and haunted him. However, in Guillermo del Toro’s version, Victor Frankenstein is the full antagonist. It's more complicated than a simple one-dimensional villain, but Victor is definitely portrayed that way more in the Netflix Frankenstein than in some other versions. He’s not even a villain with justifiable motives. It’s all daddy issues, god complex, and ego fueling his ambition and actions.

You grow to despise Victor. He becomes deplorable and someone who’s more fun to root against. By the end of Frankenstein, I was fully on the Creature's side. If he wants to terrorize Victor for eternity, let him. It is earned and deserved. I never felt that way reading the novel. Victor felt like a man who had lost control of his creation and suffered from it. Movie Victor felt like a man who earned his suffering.

It Also Showed How The World Makes The Creature A Villain, But Also A Man

Victor and the creature become monstrous throughout Frankenstein. Victor’s villainy develops due to his ambition and desire to cheat death. His upbringing also plays a major role in his development and turning into a monster. The creature becomes one out of necessity. He must survive, and that includes destruction. He’s also burdened by his inability to die.

Though the Creature may look hideous and monstrous, he’s the gentler of the two. In fact, the Creature is kind-hearted for most of the movie. It’s only when provoked that he transforms into this combative, violent figure. The world continues to harm him, so he harms it back. It showcases how people can be beaten down by life so much that they turn into the worst versions of themselves. Some even go full monster and start hurting others just to survive.

Frankenstein also shows the Creature learning and becoming more human. This demonstrates how development plays a key role in shaping someone’s identity, but whether they choose light or darkness depends on how they process and interpret things.

I Think Elizabeth And The Creature's Connection Also Helps Drive Home How Men Bring Destruction

Elizabeth (Mia Goth) makes one of the most powerful statements of the movie. She addresses how choice is so important, but women didn’t have much of it during that time. Additionally, Elizabeth also often connects with caged creatures, including Frankenstein’s Creature. They connect because there is an instant kinship. She recognizes a soul lost in a world not made for or kind to him. This is also likely because Elizabeth exists in a time and place not kind and favorable to her.

There is a hint of romance between Elizabeth and the Creature. Though that may be somewhat true, I felt it was more like soulmates meeting and finally finding each other. It doesn’t have to necessarily signify romance, but a deep and powerful understanding like no other. This is why Elizabeth and the Creature thrive when together but feel even more lost when apart. There is a love story between them, but it doesn't necessarily have to be romantic. They are two creatures burdened and bruised by this world made for and destroyed by men, and they are not men.

I Thought The Parallels Between Victor And His Father, And Victor And The Creature Show Generational Trauma In A Very Interesting Way

Guillermo del Toro doesn’t see Frankenstein as a horror movie as much as a family drama. I think it’s both, because family drama can be as terrifying and as damaging as any monster tale. Victor’s father, Leopold (Charles Dance), starts the traumatic cycle of abuse. Then Victor carries it to his Creature. The cycle of abuse likely ends with the Creature, but it displays how parents can scar and corrupt their children. This level of trauma lives on for generations.

Frankenstein is such a must-watch upcoming horror film because it tackles some of the real-life horrors of life. Parents sometimes are the true monsters and villains in their children’s lives. They scar them in ways that sometimes take generations to repair. After all, aren’t all children just creations of their parents? Frankenstein, at its core, is the tale of parents and children and all the ways they can harm them, especially if they don’t fix the scars left by their own parents.

Despite Everything, I Liked That The Frankenstein Ending Offers Slight Hope

Frankenstein ends in a way that’s not bleak. It shows that humans can forgive one another. They can change, learn, and apologize. It doesn’t have to be mutual destruction. It can be compassion, kindness, accountability, and love. Man and his creatures don’t have to destroy everything that enters their lives. Victor apologizes to his Creature and even calls him his son.

For most of the movie, he doesn’t even acknowledge him as more than a thing. It shows growth. He also encourages the Creature to use his time well. He tells him to live. I think Frankenstein shows that the Creature will find peace, but also that there can be peace amongst men. They just have to accept the need for change. It’s a positive ending to a complex story on the monsters we create and become.

Stream Frankenstein on Netflix