Frankenstein Parent Guide

Captain Anderson (Lars Mikkelsen) is leading an expedition to the North Pole, and although his ship has been locked in the ice, he makes a discovery - a badly injured, nearly incoherent man in the ruins of a campsite. Once back at the ship, the rescued man introduces himself as Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), a scientist of sorts, with a very, very strange tale to tell. He claims to have made a Creature (Jacob Elordi); an unkillable monstrosity which he was stalking in the Arctic before the Creature caught up with him. Anderson and his crew soon see the truth of that claim for themselves, as the Creature comes to the ship, swearing it will kill everyone unless they deliver Frankenstein to him. Frankenstein’s story isn’t over yet, though, and the details prove both disturbing and fascinating.

In contrast to Nosferatu’s dark greyscale and overwhelming sense of evil and dread, this adaptation of Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein leans into early Victorian colors and sumptuous décor, contrasting that beautifully with the titular character’s morbid work. It’s less about frightening the audience and more about exploring the themes present in the novel, questions about existence and identity which have made the book a staple in literature classes for well over a century.

Director Guillermo del Toro’s unique style certainly comes through – if you’ve seen Crimson Peak, you’ll have some idea of the aesthetic – but without overwhelming the story. There have been a few changes to the plot’s details, inevitable in trimming a rather long novel down to a two-and-a-half hour long film, but the modifications are very workable and make little difference to the larger point of the tale. The casting is also superb: Oscar Isaac riddled with manic madness, and Jacob Elordi playing to the Creature’s most sympathetic aspects.

While the characters keep to the generally profanity-free language standards of the time, and avoid both sex and drugs, the film is, shall we say, challenging to recommend to a family audience. Del Toro is focused on the story, but that doesn’t prevent him from gleefully leaning into the distressingly gruesome experiments of his protagonist. The scenes of dead bodies being flayed, dissected, and reanimated are, to say the least, hardly appetizing. This is a film best enjoyed without snacks – and be careful with your drink. Two-and-a-half hours is a long time without a bathroom break.

I always feel protective when classic novels are adapted to film – an attitude that likely automatically comes with an English degree – but del Toro has done a great job in balancing the (occasionally opposing) needs of literature and film, and the result is an impressive spectacle of gore, remorse, and regret. It may be a horror film, but as with the book, the real horror is the human condition. Look upon that work, ye mighty, and despair.

About author

Keith Hawkes

Keith Hawkes graduated from Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada with a degree in English and History. His interests are movies, American literature, science fiction, almost every kind of music, and museums. He enjoys criticizing films for fun - although he's okay with being paid for it.