Frankenstein Reviews

This is the best piece of cinema Netflix has ever produced, GDT is a genius at literary adaptation. Gorgeous movie from start to finish, can’t sing its praises enough!

There’s so many thoughts that rattled through my head when watching this. For starters, I enjoyed the movie. Which is surprising to me as Netflix movies don’t usually capture me in the way this movie did. However, I didn’t feel invested or on the edge of my seat like I felt I should have been.

Isaac and Elordi’s performances were phenomenal and the makeup of the monster was almost accurate to the novel. I loved that the gore and the horror aspect wasn’t just ‘neutered’ and you could feel the confused hatred, the confused anger of the life that is created. The interactions between Victor and Elizabeth made me yearn for more, and broke my heart a little.

I did feel as though they forced another monster x human connection. What I believed would be a mother and son interaction quickly became sexual tension and through me off (typical netflix though). This is just a me thing and I’m sure others will appreciate the interactions between The Creature and Elizabeth.

My biggest pet peeve was the ending. They were so accurate to the book throughout the majority of the movie that the ending fell flat and left me wondering- why was it changed

Overall, it’s a beautifully tragic movie and the story was impeccable. Thank you Mary Shelley and Guillermo Del Toro for this.

"I called your name and came to understand that I was alone." If I could, I'd type the entire film's transcript as my review. Not only does Del Toro's directorial signature leak through to the screen, but so does his passion and pain. The dense dialogue, the dark thematics, the sharp symbolism, the emotional depth, the wide-shot cinematography, the blunt colours, the curated costumes, the authentic practicality...it's Frankenstein through and through. I doubted Isaac, Elordi, and Goth, but all three did wildly better than expected. Otherwise, the casting fit the tone perfectly. My only criticism, aside from the 'Netflixification', is the almost rushed and negated key characters and plot points, especially for a 2 hr 30 min runtime. Overall, the painfully poignant father-son focus makes this more than worthwhile.

The book is way better imo. The monster design in this movie is spot on though, and I did like the overall aesthetic of the film, but a lot of the changes made to the plot were unnecessary. I didn’t like the ending, and I didn’t like the concept of Elizabeth/Creature.

wonderful movie by itself. as an adaptation of the og novel, it falls short imo. actual details from the book are adapted to the screen so loosely they feel more like easter eggs than anything. certain themes are lost and others too on the nose. i just want a true adaptation man💔

The Creature has my fucking heart.

I read the book and thought that, to be turned into an excellent movie, the story had to be changed a little, but this is too much…
I’m not saying that I didn’t like it cause it’s not like the book, I’m just saying that the changes are too much and many, the violence is too much

4.5/5 - a truly beautiful film; Jacob Elordi played the monster so well, I was genuinely in such awe of his performance throughout. The story was a bit slow in places, namely the first half, and I wasn’t overly convinced by Oscar Isaac’s performance (someone get that man a better accent coach asap), but the story soon picks up in the latter half and overall I thoroughly enjoyed it !

WOW, talk about acting….Movie was incredible!!

9/10 A great retelling of a classic story created from the young mind of Mary Shelley. The cinematic visual seemed believable which captures and pulls in your attentions. Well casted and directed. Provides lots of mixed emotions as the story grows. Recommend.

That was amazing. What a film! Fantastic performances all around, cinematography was beautiful with production design that transported you into that time and really felt immersive. The story between victor and the monster was emotional. I’ve been excited for this ever since it was announced and it exceeded my expectations. I’ve always knew of the Frankenstein story but never read it or seen any other movie adapting it, but this was too good! 👏👏

Top 10 of 2025 movies HANDS DOWN

Not only are the set designs magical, the journey this takes you on feels more fantastical & magical than you’d expect for what’s usually seen as a horror story. It’s very thematically satisfying by establishing a father son dynamic while retaining elements that makes the source…

I love Frankenstein, I love Del Toro. This bordered on Tim Burton for me a few times which maybe says more about the evolution of my own tastes over the years, but I almost wanted more body horror? More grotesque? I think the thesis is beat to death which is okay, I suppose. The performances were great. The costumes and production design were superb. Something is holding this back from a “Love” for me, though. It doesn’t hit the high notes of PL or SOW. Still, very well worth a watch.

Guillermo Del Toro gave life and death to Frankenstein, truly making this one the best and most accurate adaptation of Frankenstein, and it really is hands down Netflix’s greatest achievement in cinema!

creative changes accepted, well done. They included my absolutely favourite scene from the book. Del Torro's style is as always, exquisite and oh so memorable. 1994's is still my favourite but this is SUCH a close second, if you combined the three since 1994 together 👌

so beautiful and tragic and I loved every minute. this really makes me want to read the novel, I’ve read excerpts but not the full novel and I really want to now.

I knew this would be good, being a GDT film. The production is fantastic, with great visuals, character development and story in general. The contrasting stories between Frankenstein and his monster are really well done. I’ve not read the novel myself, but I’ve read a lot of reviews saying that this has been done very closely matching the original story, from the general plot to the way the monster looks. Despite knowing this, I must admit I’m not a fan of the monster’s appearance. I don’t think he looks great, makeup wise, and I feel his appearance more closely matches the Engineers from Alien Prometheus, rather than what you’d expect to see for Frankenstein’s Monster. But I appreciate that may be down to some bad conditioning over the years from incorrect depictions. Elordi’s performance as the monster though is fantastic! Although I’ve enjoyed the film all round, I will say it’s long. There were some scenes that I felt didn’t really add much and weren’t really necessary or needed, or at least could have been done quicker. Overall though, this is a good watch and I definitely recommend.

Forever grateful to be alive in the same time as Guillermo Del Toro is making films

Guillermo del Toro is a beautiful mind. Just finished the film and I’m still in tears. What a breathtaking reflection on life, faith, death, and what lies beyond. I’m lost for words.
It’s a larger than life, transcendent cinematic masterpiece.
Jacob Elordi you’ve come so far 🥹❤️