WHAT WENT WRONG

[Bonus Preview] Frankenstein (2025) Review

November 14, 2025

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • Chris and Lizzie generally enjoyed Guillermo del Toro's *Frankenstein*, particularly praising Jacob Elordi's transformative and emotional performance as the creature in the film's second half. 
  • The adaptation shifts the focus from Mary Shelley's novel's themes of female and marginalized oppression to a story centered on father-son dynamics and parenthood, making Victor Frankenstein the more explicit monster. 
  • A stylistic critique of the film is its modern, high dynamic range (HDR) visual presentation, which the hosts felt lacked the rich, velvety shadows characteristic of older filmmaking styles. 

Segments

Initial Spoiler-Free Impressions
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(00:01:38)
  • Key Takeaway: The film’s structure is divided into Victor’s story, which was emotionally opaque, and the creature’s story, which was exceptional and emotionally moving.
  • Summary: The hosts found the first hour, focusing on Victor Frankenstein, emotionally opaque despite appreciating the production values. The narrative significantly improved once the focus shifted to the creature’s story. Jacob Elordi’s performance as the creature was highlighted as a revelation, bringing the character to life emotionally.
Elordi’s Creature Performance
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(00:05:02)
  • Key Takeaway: Jacob Elordi successfully conveyed emotion despite heavy makeup, and the film utilized the significant height difference between him and Oscar Isaac to its advantage.
  • Summary: Elordi’s performance was deemed incredible, managing to shine through the creature makeup without the makeup overwhelming the acting. The production intentionally accentuated the nearly foot-tall size difference between Elordi (6'5") and Oscar Isaac (estimated 5'8"). Elordi settled into the role well across the movie, suggesting a non-linear shooting schedule.
Changes to Shelley’s Novel
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(00:06:32)
  • Key Takeaway: Guillermo del Toro reframed the narrative to emphasize father-son themes over the novel’s emphasis on the oppression of women and marginalized groups.
  • Summary: The novel heavily emphasizes the oppression of women, but the film adaptation centers on parenthood, which resonated strongly with Chris due to recent personal experience. A key narrative change involves Mia Goth’s character, Elizabeth, who is Victor’s fiancé in the novel but becomes the fiancé of his younger brother, William, in the film. The adaptation makes the creature completely blameless, leaning into a black-and-white morality that contrasts with the novel’s gray areas.
On-the-Nose Dialogue and Byron Quote
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(00:08:05)
  • Key Takeaway: The film features lyrical dialogue rooted in Del Toro’s world but includes moments where themes are stated too explicitly, culminating in a jarring Lord Byron quote.
  • Summary: The dialogue is lyrical and fits the world Del Toro built, but there are moments where themes are stated too directly, such as a brother telling Victor he might be the monster. The hosts strongly objected to the use of a Lord Byron quote at the end, suggesting a Mary Shelley quote would have been more appropriate given the context of the novel’s creation story.
Film Details and Cast Overview
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(00:11:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is a 2025 American gothic drama/steampunk film based on Mary Shelley’s novel, featuring a large ensemble cast including Mia Goth playing two roles.
  • Summary: The film is based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, and notably changes the fire sequence from the novel’s Ingolstadt setting. Mia Goth plays both Elizabeth and Victor’s mother, hidden behind veils and makeup. The cast includes Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, and Charles Dance as Victor’s father, Baron Leopold Frankenstein.
Host Filmography Comparison
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(00:13:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Lizzie considers Frankenstein her favorite Del Toro film since Pan’s Labyrinth, while Chris ranks it as his favorite since The Devil’s Backbone (2001).
  • Summary: Lizzie’s first Del Toro film was Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), which she felt subsequent films failed to match until Frankenstein. Chris views the period from The Devil’s Backbone (2001) through Hellboy II (2008) as Del Toro’s peak run. Both hosts felt that films from Crimson Peak onward (excluding The Shape of Water) leaned more toward style over substance until this new adaptation.
Visual Style Critique
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(00:18:40)
  • Key Takeaway: A major stylistic complaint is the film’s HDR look, which prevents true black shadows, making some shots resemble a video game rather than Del Toro’s signature velvety aesthetic.
  • Summary: The visual shift in Del Toro’s later work, possibly due to Netflix requirements, results in an HDR look where shadows are not truly black. This lack of rich, velvety shadows contrasts with the aesthetic the hosts preferred in earlier films like Interview with the Vampire (a reference to a previous episode’s topic). This visual choice was cited as one of two stylistic bumps in Latter-day Del Toro films.