TIFF 2025: Frankenstein Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Guillermo del Toro’s illustrious reputation in the gothic horror genre and well-earned Academy Award wins from films as The Shape of Water and Pinocchio, culminates in his lifelong passion project of adapting his own version of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’. Aiming for a more faithful adaptation of Shelley’s original novel, the film follows Victor Frankenstein (Isaac), and his ambitious experiment of bringing a creature (Elordi) to life, split into two tantalizing perspectives.

Del Toro’s Frankenstein is a ferociously ambitious take on the classic story, constructing this gothic tale on an attainable grand-scale with the aid of his frequent production collaborators. Production designer Tamara Deverell’s elaborately handcrafted sets embody the electrical conductor that injects life and humanity into the film, discussing these proclaimed provocative topics in tragically profound detail. Through Victor’s grandiose laboratory and grotesque experiments brought to life is where Frankenstein‘s production design shines in spotlighting the mad scientist that the Royal College of Medicine becomes so understandably horrified and condemns supporting his breakthroughs. Costume designer Kate Hawley further enriches this gorgeously detailed Victorian era through Elizabeth’s (Goth) elegant dresses and the Creature’s dilapidated and deteriorating trench coat as it tragically quests for vengeance against its creator. Along with Dan Laustsen’s captivating cinematography and Alexandre Desplat’s enchanting score, del Toro breathes life into a comprehensively exhausted property with a well-rounded production team that encapsulates his vision.

Del Toro’s effectiveness in refining and enhancing the capabilities of renowned actors to his gothic worlds is undoubtedly present with Frankenstein, as Isaac and Elordi provide expressively enthralling performances that marvellously fit this world. Isaac perfectly captures Victor’s ambition and arrogance, playing God with the determination of a scientist trying to prove his capability and dismissing his achievements when it becomes inconvenient. Establishing Victor’s devastating early life, with Christian Convery portraying his younger self, culminates in this strive to defy odds before his inevitable crash into overzealousness and ephemeral behavior. The film’s transition into the Creature’s perspective is where Frankenstein shines on a higher level as the Creature persists through its basic learning of survival, its understanding of humanity, and the depth of its resentment and vengeance towards its maker. Elordi deeply immerses himself in the mind and body of this creature, using his domineering height and extensive emotional range to embody this frightening presence while still believing in his care for humanity. Here, he showcases a career-defining performance in the infancy stage of his promising career, cementing a rightful place in cinema history.

To summarize, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is a masterful take on Mary Shelley’s popular story. Career-defining performances from Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi, along with the work from a phenomenal production team, deliver an epic spectacle worthy of defining del Toro’s successful passion project.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Costa Christoulas

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