Review and Haiku: Frankenstein (2025)

One word sums up this whole movie – Beautiful. This movie looked amazing from the sets to the lighting to the costumes to the colors to the shadows – simply beautiful to look at and to see. Eye candy from start to finish and it’s one of my favorites of 2025, up there with Sinners and Weapons for great movies I’ve seen this year.

I was afraid having Netflix put this out and to be the engine behind the machine, so to speak, would be a death curse for it. Thankfully it wasn’t because that has happened many times before. So much so that when I see Netflix original I’m hesitant, but in Guillermo del Toro I trust and will continue to trust because his direction is amazing and captivating. His shot selections and the way he moves and weaves the camera throughout these scenes in this movie and these landscapes and the way he holds the tension and the suspense just by using that camera like only a pro can do – loved that aspect of Frankenstein and the story too, which Del Toro adapted for the screen. I was gripped by the story and the conflict the whole time and felt strong emotions and feelings for all these characters on screen.

Oscar Isaac did an amazing job in the lead role, very convincing as Victor Frankenstein. You felt his pain, you felt his torment, you felt his joy, you felt his passion, you felt his struggles. He did an amazing job in that role. Mia Goth, strong as she always is in whatever she does, but for me, the true star in this movie, the person that had the heaviest load to bare – Jacob Elordi – who played Frankenstein’s monster. He put so much heart and soul and emotion into this character that I found myself rooting for him most of the time throughout the movie. I felt all of his compassion and sorrow and grief and everything else this monster endured because Jacob nailed it and if he hadn’t this movie wouldn’t be the movie it is. Kudos to him for stepping up to that challenge and the rest of the cast was solid too. No complaints in that department. Might be some Oscar buzz for this one next year. It wouldn’t surprise me. 

Moving beyond direction, story, and acting, the effects are top notch. Money went into this one because the effects worked. There might have been  a few wonky CGI animal moments but that’s not really an issue. Doesn’t condemn the movie because when effects were needed they always looked great. Especially liked the look of the monster in this one. Very human like but also very monstrous at the same time. It could almost blend in with society but there was enough off about it that it couldn’t. That led to a lot of great moments throughout this film. 

Score was also powerful and strong. Some decent gore at times too and on and on it goes. Needless to say, goodness abounds in this film and I will probably give this one another watch sometime soon.  

Have you seen Frankenstein? Let me know your thoughts about it.