This all started a few months ago. My friend’s over-the-top descriptions of a peculiar teenage girl convinced me to finally sit down and watch Lisa Frankenstein.
To summarize, I was changed. The film’s bubblegum horror dragged me down the rabbit hole of Frankenstein. It’s a very loose interpretation, but either way I searched for that click I found in the main character, Lisa.
Instead of picking up the book, I started off with another movie. Conveniently, Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation was coming to Netflix!
Like many people, I was wary of the Creature’s actor, Jacob Elordi. I was familiar with his role as the “hottest guy in school” in the Kissing Booth (yes, all three of them). But he pulled through, and I’m happy to say he’s become the latest addition to del Toro’s pantheon of alluring creatures.
The eerie beginning was enough to end any doubts I had about this film. It’s no surprise either, as Guillermo del Toro said he waited for the perfect moment to pour his soul into remaking this gothic classic.
Haunting lights introduce each character’s side of the story. A neglected child clutching guilt from his mother’s death and a lonely man cast aside from society—pretty sad stuff, right?
As these kids grow up, their trauma takes two different forms. Would you hold a horrible grudge against the entire world for taking a loved one? Probably not. Desperate to cure death, Victor creates the monster we all know of.
Though the Creature’s scars and unusual appearance are what repel people from him, he’s just lonely, and that isn’t a new idea. Some elements of the Creature in the book are removed in the film, but the changes strengthen the connection between him and viewers.
His innocent and caring nature make him easy to sympathize with. The Frankenstein novel leaves room for debate as the Creature turns to violence, giving him the label of a “monster.” This version of the Creature is the one I wholeheartedly defend. Yes, he did unfortunately end up killing a few more people, but can you blame him?
Other references to the novel also snuck into the film, with one of the most important being Mia Goth’s doublecasting as Victor’s mother as well as love interest Elizabeth. It’s one thing for Victor to crave love and companionship, but it’s another to fall in love with someone who looks exactly like his mother! This twisted romance is somehow even weirder in the book, as he falls for his adoptive sister. It definitely highlights the similarities, but I’m still not sure how I feel about this.
The film features these small details and brings them to life. Swerving away from the heavy science fiction side of the novel, del Toro fixates on the theme of nature versus nurture. Experiences can push people to become what they are, whether it’s good or bad.
Victor’s cruelty was only in his blood, as his father passed it down to him. Though Victor uses him to get what he wants, the Creature is living proof of humanity’s natural good. He’s sewn together by the parts of dead soldiers. If he has evil coursing through his veins, then why isn’t he? The fierce contrast between a madman scientist and a caring monster leaves the answer to that question up to viewers.
Now, having read the classic and taken it all in, this remake was pretty good. Even when I paused the movie to get a snack, every scene (and every single one of Mia Goth’s dresses) was so gorgeous!
I’m not a huge fan of multiple remakes, and sequels are out of the question. But the hype was well deserved. Though this Frankenstein isn’t anything like the movie that led me on this journey, I found what I was looking for. The Creature’s too emotional for his own good and definitely a wreck, but all of this makes it official: he’s now my comfort character.
