Guillermo del Toro’s film “Frankenstein” received nine Oscar Nominations at the 98th Academy Awards, winning three (Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design).
The film was also nominated for Best Picture, and Jacob Elordi was nominated for Best Supporting Actor It also received nominations for Cinematography and Musical Score.
More important than all the awards and nominations, the 2025 film “Frankenstein” by Guillermo del Toro is a wonderfully tragic tale of betrayal, death, and revenge.
The film follows the protagonist Victor Frankenstein’s life after a crew of sailors saves him from a mysterious hulking beast. Victor is taken into safety when, after the crew fights off the beast, he tells them the story of the monster he created.
After this point and some occasional scenes later, the film shifts into second person as Victor explains his tragic childhood in a broken but wealthy home.
Victor grew up studying anatomy to become a surgeon like his father. But following his parents’ deaths, he becomes fascinated with the concept of death and how to prevent it.
This then sends Victor into the obsession that consumes him throughout the rest of the film that builds, then dwindles, then explodes again in the dramatic climax of the film.
Overall, the film was astounding, especially the writing and acting. There never seemed to be a dull moment throughout the lengthy 2 1/2 hour runtime.
Seeing the story through only Victor Frankenstein’s perspective, theater-goers are led to believe that he is the good guy. However, as he begins to reveal more, the cracks in his morals begin to show.
Following the second half of the film, a shocking perspective shift happens, uncovering how maybe Frankenstein’s creation was not the monster, but rather, the monster is Victor himself.
Yet another amazing factor of this movie are the practical and digital effects. Guillermo del Toro has always created some of the most visually stunning movies (such as “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Pinocchio”) that utilize beautiful prosthetics and physical creatures, and this film is no different.
First, the work on Frankenstein’s monster itself is phenomenal. There is never a point in the movie where the absurd designs, set pieces, animals, or creatures took me out of the movie.
The soundtrack to this movie was also stellar. Alexandre Desplat creates a blend of fantastical orchestral sounds that avoids typical horror tropes and focuses on the story’s tragedy and emotion rather than trying to evoke fear.
But with all of the good, there has bound to be some not so good aspects, right? Not necessarily, but one thing about this movie might be a deal breaker.
The abundance of blood and gore in this movie is, to say the least, disturbing. This is one of if not the only movies I’ve watched that made me squeamish, but that also attests to how good the practical and digital effects were in this movie — for better and for worse.
Overall, Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” is a film that masterfully blends action, character building, brutality, and emotion into the greatest, biggest, and most delicious story I’ve seen all year.
I would whole-heartedly recommend this movie to anyone looking for a thematically and emotionally deep science fiction thriller and those who don’t mind setting aside two and a half hours to watch this beast of a film.
