Review: Frankenstein (2025) is a Beautiful, Bloated Corpse (And I Love It)

When I heard Guillermo del Toro was finally—finally—making his Frankenstein adaptation for Netflix, I was ready to be hurt. We’ve been burned before by “prestige horror” that forgets to be scary. And let’s face it, the story of Victor and his stitched-together monstrosity has been done to death. From Boris Karloff to Mel Brooks, what meat is left on this bone?

Turns out, quite a bit. But it’s not the meat you’re expecting.

I sat down to watch this 2.5-hour behemoth last night, lights off, volume up, ready for a creature feature. What I got instead was a tragic, operatic, and visually suffocating deep dive into daddy issues and god complexes.

Here is my no-nonsense review of the new Frankenstein (2025) on Netflix.

The Vibe: Gothic Eye Candy

First things first: nobody does “damp and depressed” like del Toro. The movie looks incredible. It smells like wet wool, ozone, and rotting wood. The opening scenes in the Arctic are so cold I actually felt it.

The cinematography is lush, dark, and expensive. You can see every cent of that Netflix budget on the screen. It’s not the neon-soaked horror of modern slashers; it’s old-school, oil-painting gloom. If you’re watching this on a phone, you’re doing it wrong. Go find the biggest screen you have, because the texture here is half the experience.

The Monster: Jacob Elordi as the World’s Saddest Boy

Let’s address the elephant in the room (or the giant in the lab). Jacob Elordi plays The Creature. Yes, Euphoria’s Jacob Elordi. I was skeptical. I expected a handsome guy with a few scars painted on.

And yeah, he’s still weirdly handsome for a guy made of graverobbed parts. He’s definitely the “prettiest” monster we’ve ever had. But Elordi brings a physicality to the role that actually works. He twitches, he lurches, he yearns. He plays the Creature not as a villain, but as a confused, abandoned child in a linebacker’s body.

There’s a scene where he fights off wolves to protect a blind man (and then gets hunted down for it) that honestly broke me a little. It’s sympathetic. Maybe too sympathetic for the hardcore gorehounds, but it hits the emotional beats del Toro loves.

The Man: Oscar Isaac is the Real Villain (Duh)

We all know the trope: “Frankenstein is the doctor, not the monster.” But Oscar Isaac takes that idea and sprints with it. His Victor Frankenstein is a narcissist of the highest order. He’s manic, sweaty, and deeply unlikable.

Isaac plays him with this frantic, bug-eyed intensity that makes you want to punch him. And that’s the point. He’s not a misunderstood genius; he’s a deadbeat dad with a scalpel. The chemistry—or anti-chemistry—between him and the Creature is the engine of the whole film.

Also, shout out to Mia Goth. She’s the scream queen of our generation for a reason, even if she’s a bit underutilized here as Elizabeth. She brings a weird, nervous energy that keeps the period drama stuff from feeling too stiff.

The Gritty Truth: Where It Falters

It’s not perfect. Let’s be real.

1. The Pacing: It drags. The middle section, where Victor is moping and the Creature is learning to read, feels like it lasts a week. You could trim 20 minutes off this thing and lose nothing.
2. The CGI: For a director who loves practical effects, there are moments (specifically those wolves I mentioned) that look like PS4 cutscenes. It pulls you right out of the 19th-century immersion.
3. The Lack of Scares: If you’re looking to be terrified, look elsewhere. This is a tragedy, not a spook-fest. It’s more likely to make you cry than check under your bed.

The Verdict

Is Frankenstein (2025) a masterpiece? Maybe. It’s definitely a spectacle, that’s for sure. But it doesn’t quite have that unique quality that some of Del Toro’s early films have. Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth are all superior to it, but that’s just my opinion.

That being said, Frankenstein is still a film that asks big questions about responsibility and creation, wrapped in a gorgeous, gothic package. It’s grandiose, self-indulgent, and occasionally boring, but it has a beating heart that most Netflix “content” lacks entirely.

Should you watch it? Yes. But don’t go in expecting a monster mash. Go in expecting a sad, beautiful waltz with death. And maybe bring a tissue. Or a box fulla them.

Rating: 4 out of 5 severed limbs.

Have you watched the new Frankenstein on Netflix yet? Am I being too harsh on the CGI? Let me know in the comments below.