I am way, way behind in watching the Academy Award nominees, but I finally caught up with Frankenstein tonight, a film I really was not looking forward to seeing.  I’m not much of a fan of its writer-director (I despised Pan’s Labyrinth) and my record for seeing Gothic remakes of late has been pretty dismal (see the last few reviews for proof of this).  A friend of mine even criticized me for my reluctance after I cited having to see so many versions of what I consider to be a familiar tale.  Well, I was wrong.  This version harkens back to the 1973 TV-movie Frankenstein: The True Story, which I watched when it premiered and liked a great deal.  This version, happily, is even better.

Guillermo Del Toro’s version of Mary Shelley’s famous tale centers on the brilliant scientist Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), who believes he will eventually be able to create life in his laboratory.  After public ridicule for this notion he gets unexpected help and funding from a man (Christoph Waltz) chasing immortality.  The creature (Jacob Elordi) is created, mistreated and abused, and eventually escapes into the wilds.  Frankenstein tries to forget and live a normal life but the creature’s return spoils that and the two spend months chasing each other into Arctic regions, where a final confrontation awaits.

I didn’t trust Guillermo Del Toro to tell this story, and I was wrong.  This is a loving, affectionate (yet still very grotesque) tribute to the “Frankenstein”s of old, while creating something fresh and alive and meaningful.  The magnificent production values for which Del Toro is well known are present and greatly enhance the cold, callous nature of the story.  Most of the performances are vibrant and humanize what could be so much scientific malarkey (as is The Bride!, a current but distant cousin to this story.  Third or fourth cousin, perhaps.  The ones that don’t get invited to the reunions or the weddings).  Just about everything works here, from the changing point of view to the omnipresent narration to the always cold surroundings to the intricate details which so intrigue the characters.  This is an immense cinematic achievement, most of it done without computer graphic-created effects.  It’s old school, and it succeeds, wildly.

Despite the medical grotesquery and the inevitable carnage caused by the creature and against him, this is really a story about humanity.  How Victor’s parents led him away from people and toward biological study.  How brothers stick together through hard times.  How small comforts can be lifesaving to someone who needs them.  How someone’s character is more important than their appearance.  How forgiveness is not just intelligent but necessary.  I like the old Universal monster movies but this, I think, is better (with the probable exception of Bride of Frankenstein, a true masterpiece).  ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2.  11 March 2026.