I was already late on this one, therefore I delayed even further in talking about Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein. (It got a tiny theatrical release in 2025 to meet Oscar requirements, but is mainly on Netflix.) This way it is now almost exactly fifteen years since one of my earliest posts concerning the differences between the original Mary Shelly written novel, and men's interpretations of that tale. I am not behind schedule, I am planning commemorations.
Honestly, Anabelle should be putting this one out. She won an award at Villanova for an essay concerning the characters in the Dracula and Frankenstein novels including the influence of the writers being a man and a woman respectively. She also send Rosa and I a multi page "Your Eyes Only" write up of this one, which I will draw from heavily.
There were many indications in the advertising and interviews that this film was indented as an accurate adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel. These indications fell somewhere between being misleading and being bald faced lies. Therefore, it was extremely aggravating to my daughter, as the original novel was her introduction to the story and still her favorite version. She needed to cleanse by watching her beloved 2004 Hallmark miniseries, which is likely the most accurate pure adaptation of the novel we will ever get. Rosa and I watched that one afterwards as well, after hearing our child sing its praises. It is very well done, the down side being, like the book, (and like many pre insanely paced streaming times miniseries, to be honest) it does drag a bit here and there. The overall quality overwhelms that, however.
Back to the new one- Shelley crafted Victor's reactions to his Creature largely based in the post-partum depression she had gone through. She also included a mix of both moral and immoral actions from both Victor Frankenstein (not a doctor) and the Creature, making it impossible all the way through to identify either as truly good or evil.
This movie was clearly created by a man, reworking the entire set of relationships between Victor, his father, and the Creature into a tale about both the cycle of male abuse, and connections between fathers and sons.
This movie was also clearly created by Del Toro, who frequently employs the "humans are the real monsters" idea, as he is a fellow monster lover. Therefore the Creature is truly an innocent, and Victor is "the monster," almost wholly responsible for any carnage and destruction that occurs, outside of when his creation is acting in self defense.
Having said all of that, even Anabelle agrees that the film was extraordinarily beautiful. The sets, the cinematography, and the costumes are all gorgeous. How the scene with the Creature and the blind man is interpreted is vastly different in every adaptation, but always contains some greatness, tragedy and heart. David Bradley's turn in that role continues this. 
I came into the Frankenstein mythology via the Universal films. (Technically I came into it via every book about horror movies in the Riverview and Denville libraries first, then the Universal films.) From that angle, I greatly enjoyed Del Toro's movie pulling inspiration from so many sources including those Universal films, the Hammer films, Anabelle's beloved 2004 Hallmark miniseries, a few other places such as comics and yes, the novel as well. (Along with, Berni "Swamp Thing" Wrightson's illustrated version of that novel)
The film was a remarkable entry into the Frankenstein mythology for a new age. Monsters are cool and important and I love them. Whenever we get a return to one of the true classics that is this well constructed, I will be on board.
And being firmly in the camp of the "rooting for the monsters" as well as having grown up on the Universal version before reading the book, I rank this one quite a bit higher than Anabelle's take. (Which boiled down to- It looked really good and parts were well done... but why did they do this?")
Interesting note- Every single time we see Boris Karloff throw little Maria into the water, both Anabelle and I get highly incensed... for completely different reasons.
The cast was fantastic all around with the leads really shining. Yes, Anabelle (AKA- the world's biggest Henry Clerval fan) there were key characters from the novel left out, existing ones modified beyond recognition and brand new ones thrown in. This tale has grown into a myth well beyond its original source. (However, I also agree to maintain the spirit, we really need a woman helmed film of this tale. Even Anabelle's beloved 2004 Hallmark miniseries was written and directed by men, likely explaining the deviations from some core ideas in the novel.)
[Later edit- Hey, I forgot about this- The Bride! written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal literally opens in the USA tomorrow...Set in 1930's Chicago. I guess that would be more of "A Peice of the Frank-Tion" than anywhere near a direct adaptation of the book. However, it should add some interesting stuff to the mythology. I shall have to check it out.]
Finally we have Jacob Elordi, and the outstanding makeup team that transformed him into Victor's creation. He's terrifying, but pitiable. He's also both sweet and vengeful doing an excellent job with a complex role. For those of us that always root for the monster in this genre, he gave us many reasons to do that.
While far less true to the book than Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula. (If you ignore the reincarnated love story in the Coppola film, which can be traced back to the Sixties TV series Dark Shadows for vampires... and even further to the original 1932 The Mummy for the concept.) I place this movie in the same realm as that one. It's a strangely beautiful retelling of a classic monster tale, with nods to various versions, but a unique visual language.
Bonus- Fun Frankenstein Facts!!!
Frankenstein's Creation is a whopping eight feet tall in the novel. No adaptation has gone that large.
Jacob Elordi is 6 feet 5 inches tall, making him taller than everyone in the classic Universal Horror films who played the Frankenstein Monster. (And the same height as Christopher Lee.)
But who was the shortest???
In reverse chronological order:
1948 Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein
1945 House of Dracula
Glen Strange- 6 Feet 4 Inches.
Bela Lugosi- 6 Feet 1 Inch. (Same as Luke Goss in Anabelle's beloved 2004 Hallmark miniseries.)
Lon Chaney Jr. – 6 Feet 2 inches.
1939 Son of Frankenstein
1931 Frankenstein
Boris Karloff- 5 Feet 10 or 11 Inches.
You gotta hand it to the Universal casting department in 1931 who thought,
"Lugosi said no... how about that middle aged, gangly looking British guy for the Creature?"
And made cinema history with the formerly named William Henry Pratt.
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