Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming Frankenstein adaptation is one of the most awaited releases of late 2025. However, the filmmaker’s dream project has not fully impressed critics.
The Netflix movie had its world premiere in the main competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 30. This R-rated version of Mary Shelley’s 1818 Gothic novel will have a limited theatrical release on October 17 before arriving on Netflix on November 7. After its debut, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein opened with a modest 79% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.
This score is based on 28 reviews and may change as the movie reaches theaters and later streams on Netflix, with more reviews coming in. Still, the highly anticipated sci-fi drama has received an unexpected early response. Since it is not yet available to the public, there is no audience score at this time.
Mary Shelley meets Crimson Peak, If you loved that film, you’ll love this. Some may balk at Elordi playing a monster, but – as Del Toro so floridly shows us – monsters might also appear in the guise of someone as lovely as Oscar Isaac. It’s hard to imagine any other filmmaker who could bring the Gothic spirit to this property better than this one. It is simply because del Toro has more to say, and more emotion to lay on, in this genre than anyone out there, explaining that the filmmaker turns it into a fascinating and thoughtful tale on what it means to be a human, and who is really the monster? Elordi is very fine in quite a different kind of role for him, and physically he really fits the bill. Isaac is enormously fun to watch as he slips further into madness. One of del Toro’s finest, this is epic-scale storytelling of uncommon beauty, feeling and artistry, explaining del Toro’s version honors the essence of the book in that it’s not so much straight-up horror as tragedy, romance and a philosophical reflection on what it means to be human.
HeyUGuys’ Jo-Ann Titmarsh described the film as, noting that. Deadline‘s Pete Hammond wrote, then The Hollywood Reporter‘s David Rooney called Frankenstein
The visual effects weren’t rendered for big-screen consumption, and points out the unconventional approach to sexuality and nudity. The review also acknowledges that del Toro remains a cinematic master, and every costume, set and prop was crafted with formidable imagination and a daunting attention to detail. The performances are all camp and no soul, the ideas barely there and the centrepiece creature consistently underwhelming, while The Independent’s Geoffrey Macnab noted Isaac’s performance is mannered and uneven, and that Elordi plays the creature as a misunderstood, James Dean-like outsider with Oedipal issues rather than as an agent of evil and chaos, and highlighting that the film features less to no suspense due to the well-known tale and that “is ultimately short of the voltage needed really to bring it to life.
Among the negative reviews, four at the time of writing, Variety’s Peter Debruge argues, The Times’ Kevin Maher argued
Even though the source material and his love for gothic horror suggest otherwise, the three-time Oscar-winning director confirmed that the film will not be a horror. Frankenstein has been a passion project for a long time, along with Pinocchio, which he successfully adapted in 2022 in partnership with Netflix. That film went on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
Somebody asked me the other day, ‘Does it really have scary scenes?’ For the first time, I considered that. It’s an emotional story for me. It’s as personal as anything. I’m asking a question about being a father, being a son… I’m not doing a horror movie — ever. I’m not trying to do that.
The filmmaker clarified that Frankenstein is not a horror film. del Toro explained
Frankenstein features Oscar Isaac in the title role, with Christian Convey portraying a young Victor. The creature is played by Jacob Elordi from Saltburn. The cast also includes Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth, Lars Mikkelsen, Felix Kammerer, David Bradley, Burn Gorman, Ralph Ineson, and Charles Dance.
The film will release in theaters on October 17 and stream on Netflix starting November 7.
Source: CBR