Frankenstein (2025) – REVIEW & COCKTAIL – GenMovi

A long time ago, I was a stupid high school student trying to get my way through school. Mary Shelley Frankenstein was one of the few books that managed to hold my attention. It’s a dark story filled with mad science, violence, and a lot of people telling the story to someone else rather than telling it to the audience. Even though Frankenstein is one of the most recognizable and misnamed horror icons, many people may not know the whole story. Pop culture has certainly muddied the story a lot with its countless adaptations, but the good news is that the novel itself leaves a lot of room for interpretation. You just have to stick to the essentials. A mad genius creates a monster, regrets it, and we learn that humanity may actually be the real monsters. But this is only the surface of what this story offers. There are much deeper thoughts to be had, such as the parallels with Prometheus and the reckless abandon that drives men to create but not to nurture. And it’s these deeper themes that keep me from outright loving Guillermo del Toro adaptation.

But make no mistake; I still had a good time with it. It contains that otherworldly macabre aesthetic that del Toro loves, and it does a solid job with the source material to create a pretty fun gothic adventure. That being said, this is far from being his most accomplished release. While the performances are great and the world design is a marvel to look at, it becomes incredibly predictable, not because we’ve seen this story before, but because it doesn’t really use that story to dig deeper. The opening line that “humans are the real monsters” is always at the forefront of the story, which ends up feeling tired and stale without fully doing Shelley’s work or life justice. The way del Toro weaves the story into fantasy territory is undoubtedly appealing, but at times the whole thing feels rather different from the monster; not greater than the sum of its parts.

What I will give the film credit for is how it parallels Frankenstein’s journeys and his creation. Victor, played eccentrically by Oscar Isaacwas dug after the death of his mother when he was young. This loss of his rock pushes him to fight death under the guise of seeking life. Mate, if you want a life, go to the pub, meet someone, make friends. He has everything at his disposal to embrace the warmth and joy that life has to offer, but his ego pushes him towards this odious vanity project. On the other hand, the monster, well played physically and emotionally by Jacob Elordstrives for things he cannot have; love, companionship, acceptance. His very creation prohibits him from these luxuries, and yet he pursues them anyway, knowing that they are the cornerstones of life even though they are only perhaps a few months old. It’s a pretty standard structure, but I think it manages to get the job done.

That being said, I still think the characterizations of both can be a bit lacking. Victor somehow becomes this completely irredeemable A-hole that the film ultimately wants us to sympathize with. It can be done, but the movie doesn’t really do it in a very interesting way. I think we can do more than just regret on our deathbed, right? Additionally, the monster seems far too neat and polished, both in its characterization and design. He sort of looks like one of the engineers at Prometheusoddly enough. While Elordi the performance is pretty solid, his humanity shines through a little too much, which I think detracts from the interest of the monster. He’s really just a haircut and makeover away from looking like everyone else, which kind of explains the point of not treating people badly because of their slightly bland appearance. Honestly, Del Toro’s Shape of Water does a much better job of this by pushing the boundaries a little further. I’m not saying I want the monster to be this crude, sloppy amalgam of a pile of corpses but… no, wait, I’m saying that.

Hey, but at least he ends up absolutely demolishing everyone who gets in his way. Look, this might sound like an exaggeration, but there are some pretty fun examples of gore and violence here that can sometimes seem straight out of a slasher film. Sure, it’s too much of a crowd pleaser, but I like my gothic horror with a little blood and spit. The film as a whole isn’t really like that, as I found much of the set design and stylistic choices to be more aesthetic than grim and crude. That’s not to say the visuals aren’t good, though. The attention to detail in these large, colorful set pieces is astounding, even though fundamentally they don’t make much sense outside of what’s necessary in the story. Even still, Del Toro commitment to physical construction is ten times more profitable… but above all just for the scenography.

I was a little disappointed by the amount of garish CG in this thing. Sure, it makes sense for some things like a pack of wolves attacking or electrical explosions, but there were other uses that just cheapened the scenes. Like, near the beginning, Victor briefly brings this half-man back to life. It looks like it could have been a very simple puppet or animatronic, but it’s a very visible CGI creature, whose rubberiness erases any shock of seeing a corpse come to life. I don’t know if this was a request from Netflix or what, but I wish more handy features would have sneaked in.

So when it comes to adapting classic literature, sometimes more than just copying pages onto the screen is required. It takes a fundamental understanding of subtext to really make up for what you lose when you go from book to movie. I think Del Toro has an emotional connection to this story, as evidenced by his love of the misunderstood outcasts who often lead his stories. It sums it all up pretty well, but at this point, do we really need to revisit this? I think it’s completely valid to settle for the “man is the real monster” story again, but what does that do to elevate the original work? The film is poised to delve into something deeper, but these revelations only come in small doses. For example, the film sometimes plays with the idea of ​​a man playing the role of a child, as it were. Victor is so obsessed with the idea of ​​creation that he completely forgets about the mountain of time and dedication that is supposed to ensue. It’s really interesting, because it’s not really a foreign concept when you look at families where the men constantly want to express their babies but leave them to the mothers to end up raising them. Does this theme really come full circle? Not really. The film has a bit of this problem where it gets so caught up in its grand grandeur that it forgets to bring the small details to the surface.

It feels like the fulfillment of a lifelong journey for Torobut looking back, I now feel that it is Already accomplished this through his other works. This is why 2025 Frankenstein can sometimes feel like a retread for the director. It’s stylistic and grandiose as one might expect, but ultimately doesn’t do enough for the director’s body of work or for the Mary Shelley opus. It’s a fun film that certainly gets the gist of what the original novel was trying to say, but overall it only feels superficial. I enjoyed it for what it’s worth, but book purists will unfortunately have to keep looking. May I suggest Julia Duciurnau give this a chance. I think she has the level of craziness that this story needs.

RATING

BODY REVIVING 1818

Corpse reviver cocktails have been around for decades, potentially giving you the hangover cure with a little hair of the dog. Well, let me offer you the hair of the guy I dug up from the cemetery. This variation of the Reviver cocktail contains many of the same ingredients, but uses green chartreuse for a slightly peppery twist and lime juice for a smoother but still flavorful final product. Now, I can’t guarantee that this will actually revive a corpse, but if you’re already dead, why deprive yourself of a good cocktail anyway? That’s what I thought.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 ounces of gin
• 1/2oz of Lillet Blanc
• 1/2oz green chartreuse
• 1/4 ounce absinthe
• 1/2 ounce lime juice
• 1/4 oz simple syrup
• garnish: lime slice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake with ice.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass.
3. Garnish with lime slice(s). If desired, twist and skewer them to form a spiral.