Frankenstein (2025) Movie Review. Jacob Elordi shines in Del Toro’s big…

A few weeks ago, I re-read the audiobook of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, so the story would be fresh in my mind when I came to see this. I don’t need to explain here why it’s a classic, kick-starting both the modern sci-fi and horror novel with its deep philosophical questions about the responsibilities of a creator to his creation, and what it means to be human, and whether violence is inherent in our species or not… Its place in both the literary and cinematic canon is so well-established that it’s pretty much on the level of modern mythology. Despite this, and my assumption that most people reading this will have at least a working knowledge of the story, I’m going to try to avoid spoilers for the film in the review (though I might not in any comments!).

As I understand it, Del Toro has been desperate to make this movie version for years, writing his own script, which is based on the novel but takes some major detours away from it. Opening in the frozen northern wastes, we meet Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) chasing his created foe, a hunt which has almost killed him. He’s taken on board a ship stuck in the ice, and starts telling his story to the Scandinavian…