Late night at the IMAX with del Toro’s Frankenstein — Quick Review

Hello. This is just a quick review of my experience watching del Toro’s Frankenstein at the BFI IMAX, especially for those who weren’t able to see it on the big screen.

The IMAX version was introduced briefly by the director. He mentioned his epiphany as a child when he saw Boris Karloff cross the threshold as the Monster, and how, from that moment, he had always wanted to create his own Frankenstein. The tale in his head grew throughout the decades, absorbing elements from his own life, his relationship with his father, his relationship between his children and himself, the biography of Mary Shelley, the life of the Romantics, everything he knew about Gothic romance, and everything he had been dreaming of for fifty years. The implication is that this film, like the Creature himself, is a patchwork of many different elements, with a deep emotional core.

It’s also the Frankenstein tale cranked up to eleven. The film opens with the Creature savagely boarding an Arctic explorer, in search of his creator, Victor Frankenstein. The sound design here is exceptional, and the violence packs a real meaty punch. This is one of those scenes that definitely benefited from the big screen treatment. When the Creature roared for his master, the auditorium shook, and everyone at that late-night screening immediately perked up. There is far more visceral violence in del Toro’s version than the original. On a primal level, it’s just really exciting to see the big hulking monster smash things up.

A common criticism of the film is that the middle portion drags a bit. After an ice-shattering set piece, Victor starts telling his tale, and the story slams the brakes. This might be the least interesting part of the film, but even so there are lush production elements, like Victor’s mother with her long, flowing red veil as she floats up the stairs. Also, there are interesting subtextual themes of monsters creating monsters, and a significant event from Mary Shelley’s biography feeding into Victor’s backstory, just as it had fed into the creation of her own story.

There are noticeable character changes to the book. Elizabeth serves as a romantic interest for Victor, with both bonding over their shared love of anatomy; she is not simply cannon fodder for the Creature. Harlander, played by Christoph Waltz, is a brand new character, an industrialist who becomes Victor’s benefactor in his life-begetting experiments. Together Liz and Harlander serve as foils to Victor. Elizabeth’s love of creatures is evident in her scarab-beetle jewellery, the cellular patterns on her dresses, and her fondness for butterfly catching.

The scenes set in Victor’s lab were wonderfully immersive at the IMAX. Del Toro imagines the lab as a gigantic gothic tower, with Sphinx feet at the base, gargoyles up top, and ivy creeping along the walls. Victor assembles his creature to the sound of a sweeping romantic waltz, as he rips off various tendons and ligaments. It’s a great montage sequence, at once playful, comical, and grim. Through Victor, del Toro pokes fun at his own perverse infatuation with making monsters.

Witnessing Frankenstein bring his monster to life is akin to having a religious experience. It is the most spectacular scene in the picture, with the opening serving as close second. The interplay between Victor and the Creature is the beating heart of the film. Jacob Elordi is fantastic as the Creature. After being birthed by Victor, he toddles around in a diaper made of bandages, crawls along the floor like a curious animal, and conveys a wealth of emotion through his eyes. Oscar Isaac is equally good as Victor. He perpetuates the cycle of abuse learned from his father, chaining up his monster-child in the cellar, and though despicable in many respects, we feel his terror when the Creature sets out for his blood.

What’s more, the soundtrack is immense, emotionally charged, with a dark-fairytale feel. The practical effects are eerily impressive. The computer-generated insects and animals work well enough, though I would have liked to have seen practical effects used for the dark angel from Victor’s dreams.

In any case, this is a textbook example of an adaptation done right. Del Toro injects much-needed life into an old, familiar tale, exaggerating and elevating elements from Shelley’s story into his own unique cinematic language. It’s grand, it’s grotesque, it’s melodramatic, it’s operatic. It’s del Toro. What more do you want?