There have been many different iterations of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. I grew up watching the James Whale 1931 version starring Boris Karloff as the monster. It was part of my discovery of different kinds of films as a child. I became a fan of the Universal Monsters because of this. Since then, multiple versions of this story have been released. One starring Robert DeNiro, one focusing mainly on Victor Frankenstein starring James McAvoy, a young adult version,  I, Frankenstein and the latest was Lisa, Frankenstein another version geared towards teens or oddballs directed by the daughter of Robin Williams,  Zelda Williams. Let’s suffice it to say Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein is quite different from these other versions in the best possible way. Del Toro put his unique spin on this legendary tale.

The new Frankenstein starts with a framing device as a boat full of sailors get stranded in the ice at the north pole. While trying to get out of the ice, they notice an explosion in the distance. A man comes running towards them, and they see another bigger man in the distance. The bigger man comes and starts wrecking havoc with the sailors yelling the name of Victor. He wants this man, but the sailors at the behest of their captain prevent this monster, (Jacob Elordi) if you will, of a man from tipping their boat over by shooting the ice he is standing on. He ends up sinking into the water, and the man, Victor (Oscar Isaac), gets help from the captain in his quarters. He asked him to tell him what was going on regarding this situation. So Victor tells this man his story. 

This film is separated into two distinct segments besides the framing device that cuts in between the two different story arcs. The first part is “Victor Frankenstein’s Story,” and the second part is “The Monsters Story”. The first arc of the movie tells the story of young Victor growing up with an overbearing father figure, Leopold Frankenstein (Charles Dance) and the death of his mother. He decides to focus on his studies and becomes a well renowned scientist. He then devotes his life to giving life to man instead of killing or watching men die. After a seminar, he ends up getting a financial backer, Hienrich Halander (Christoph Waltz), who helps him in his endeavor to create the perfect man. The problem is that there are some complications and things don’t go exactly as he had planned. He ends up creating an unstoppable monster who has no regard for life. Or so he thought. Until the second half of the film where the monster, yes he learns to speak, tells his side of the story. He meets an old blind man, David Bradley and falls in love with a woman Elizabeth Lavenza (Mia Goth) the niece of the Waltz character and the betrothed to William Frankenstein the younger brother of Victor, but fate intervenes as he wasn’t meant to have love in his life. These two creator and Monsters lives will always be intertwined, though, as the framing device suggests.

One of the things fans of Guillermo Del Toro’s films know is that he likes to do everything he does with practical effects. All the sets are practical, and the production design is incredible. There are multiple sets, including one massive set that is the main set involving creating the monster in a castle overlooking a cliff by an ocean. Another is the boat set stuck in the ice at the north pole, and there are a couple of big estates that are homes of some of the characters in the film. All of these sets are well thought out with all the different moving parts and so forth. In the original Frankenstein, the laboratory was big and expansive, but in Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein, it’s massive and such a cool looking set. All the pieces are incredibly realized and make complete sense in the context of the film and the science that has been established already in this movie. Del Toro is so great at creating films that look so real and lived in, and this is another one of those.

Another aspect of the picture that is so amazing is the costumes. Specifically, the dresses worn by the Goth character. She has various gowns she wears in the film. The green one is breathtakingly gorgeous. Later in the movie, she wears a wedding gown that she looks so beautiful in. Goth as an actress plays up her character’s high society role by looking regal and so perfect in these dresses. The rest of the costumes are from the colonial looking garb of Isaac, Waltz, and Felix Kemmerer’s character. The garb of the sailors and the monster are also quite good. The blue peacoats of the sailors show through the white snow that is coveting them. The shredded cloaks on top of the monster make him look even bigger than he is already. The costume department is definitely in line for a potential awards season run. They did a great job dressing all the actors in big roles and small phenomenally well. 

Another aspect of any Frankenstein picture is the makeup on the monster. The makeup and headpiece of the creature from 1931 Frankenstein is some of the most iconic makeup in movie history. This time around, the makeup on the monster looks a bit different from what filmgoers are used to. Even in some of the other versions of this IP, the makeup is quite gruesome on the monster.  This time around, the makeup department tried not to make the creature as gruesome as past incarnations. With Elordi as the monster, it makes sense because Del Toro didn’t want to make him look completely ugly. He can draw female viewers to come watch this movie in its two week initial run-in theaters. This would be the best look for the character. Layered pieces of skin as grafts that came from other bodies is a new look for this creature. As well as the monster makeup, there are also a lot of graphic bloody injuries and severed limbs and so forth. Once again, all of this makeup and hairstyling work is awards worthy.

Alexander Desplat is an Oscar winning composer, and he’s created many scores for films big and small. He has now worked with Del Toro on three of his movies, The Shape of Water, Pinocchio, and Frankenstein. He is able to adapt to the various projects he is working with, Del Toro. He creates a sound for that particular film. This time around, he created a moody, darker theme for the picture. The darker themes fit very well into the more brooding character study this film is trying to create. Both of the lead characters have distinct themes within the context of the overall movie. I heard a lot of lower horns and drums in the course of listening to the score in this film. I was perfectly at home with the darker sounding score Desplat created for this version of Frankenstein. It goes hand in hand with this legendary IP. Del Toro chose to adapt.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein is a visually stunning piece of film. It looks gorgeous in every possible way. Even in the darker scenes. The cinematography by Dan Luastsen is just as beautiful as many of his other movies with Del Tor or his work on the John Wick films. He has a way with color and using natural light to his advantage. The white ice of the north pole is juxtaposed to the dank dungeon set and the browns of the laboratory in the castle. The vivid lush gardens of the large estates jump off the screen in contrast to a lot of the other scenes in the movie. Dan Laustsen is one of my favorite cinematographers working today, and this picture shows why. He is a master with the camera as well as lighting. 

Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein is a stunning work of art in so many different ways.The production design, costumes, makeup and hairstyling, score, and last but not least the cinematography are all incredible.The acting by Isaac and Elordi is first rate with both ginger fantastic performances as Victor Frankenstein and the monster. Del Toro is one of the most visionary filmmakers working today. He is able to take an old story like Frankenstein and give it a new look and stunning visual style audiences haven’t seen before. Having a two week theatrical run is going to do wonders for this film and its awards chances. I was completely enthralled by everything I was watching on screen in this remake of the classic Mary Shelly story. This is another achievement by a great filmmaker who is in a role in his career right now. Netflix has a hit on their hands.

4 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen