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Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation of Frankenstein has debuted on Netflix, presenting a version of the monster, portrayed by Jacob Elordi, that possesses more humanity than his creator.
This Netflix rendition deviates from both the classic novel and its subsequent film interpretations, offering a narrative that suggests the possibility of redemption for all characters involved.
Victor Frankenstein, played by Oscar Isaac, is profoundly affected by the trauma of losing his mother, who died due to complications during the birth of his younger brother, William, portrayed by Felix Kammerer.
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Victor later uncovers the bitter truth that his father, a renowned doctor, harbored such resentment towards his mother that he allowed her to perish.
This revelation fuels Victor’s obsession with the boundaries of life and death, leading him to become an exceptionally skilled yet egotistical surgeon, driven by an ambition to conquer mortality.
Despite the medical community’s rejection of his gruesome experiments in necromancy, Victor finds a financial backer in Henrich Harlander, an arms dealer played by Christoph Waltz.
While Victor’s shocking, necromantic experiments are rejected by the medical community, he soon accepts funding from the arms dealer Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz).
Using an abandoned tower as his base, Victor conducts his experiments with Harlander’s funds, and the help of William.
Soon, Victor finds himself attracted to Harlander’s niece Elizabeth (Mia Goth), who also happens to be William’s fiancé.
Victor edges closer to his goal of creating life, assembling a large body out of corpse parts.
Suddenly, Harlander demands that Victor transfer his own brain into the new body, having been fatally infected with syphilis, but Victor refuses, and the two fight, with Harlander suffering a fatal fall from the roof.
Victor infuses his monster with lightning, and the experiment seemingly fails. However, Victor wakes up to find the monster alive, and in a state of childlike helplessness and curiosity.
Victor is the creator of his creature, but begins to resent what he has made. He never really understood the responsibility of creating life, having been so fixated on the goal itself, and soon proves a terrible father, even worse than his own.
Frustrated by the creature’s seeming lack of intelligence, Victor grows outright abusive. When his secret is uncovered by Elizabeth, she views the monster with a great deal of sympathy and understanding, and Victor becomes jealous.
Victor blames his monster for the death of Harlander, and then attempts to destroy it by burning down his own laboratory. Victor changes his mind at the last minute, but is unable to stop the flames, and the tower explodes.
The monster can effortlessly regenerate, to the point where he might be immortal, but Victor loses a leg in the wake of the explosion.
The two are separated, and the monster goes on a journey of self-discovery, observing a family of villagers, and then befriending a blind old man who treats him like a human being.
The monster learns to speak and read, and then finds out the unnatural method of his creation.
Depressed and rejected by humans for his appearance, the monster tracks down Victor and demands that he build him a bride, so that he can share his cursed existence with another.
Victor refuses, fearing that the two will breed more creatures.
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The enraged monster attacks Victor, striking him the way Victor used to lash out at him, when he was a newborn.
Elizabeth walks in and discovers that the monster is back, and caresses him like a lover. Victor fires at the monster in rage, injuring Elizabeth.
The monster kills several men in his struggle to leave, including William, and walks out with the wounded Elizabeth. As William dies in Victor’s arms, he confesses that he was always frightened of Victor, and describes him as the “real monster.”
The monster takes Elizabeth to a cave and the two share a tender moment before she dies—it seems as though Elizabeth had romantic feelings for the creature.
Victor is furious and seeks vengeance, seizing a rifle and tracking down the creature, but the monster easily fends him off, and allows him to escape.
Victor’s selfishness has led to the death of everyone he has ever cared about—he was so obsessed with making a scientific breakthrough that he never considered the implications of creating new life, and repeated his father’s mistakes, passing down his own trauma to his monster.
Finally, the monster reunites with Victor, who is slowly dying, on a stranded Danish ship exploring the North Pole.
The two have both told their side of the story, and Victor realizes that the monster’s perspective is far more sympathetic than his own.
Victor apologizes for everything and the monster decides to forgive him. Like Everything, Everywhere All at Once and Turning Red, this is a movie about forgiving your parents, healing the wounds of childhood.
Victor dies and the monster is allowed to leave freely—he uses his Hulk-like strength to free the ship, marking the end of his feud with humanity.
The film ends on a shot of the monster watching the sunrise, echoing his first day on Earth, when Victor showed him the sunlight through the window.
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