TIFF 50 Frankenstein Review
“Who is the true monster when everyone is broken?”
“Love made him human. Fear made him a monster.”
Guillermo del Toro dirige Frankenstein. He wrote the screenplay and adapted Mary
Shelley’s 1818 novel.
The cast includes Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as the Creature.
Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Charles Dance, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David
Bradley, and others fill key roles.
The film premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival on August 30. The Venice audience
gave a prolonged standing ovation, reported at roughly 13 minutes. Frankenstein
screened at TIFF 50 in Toronto on September 8, 2025. Netflix lists a theatrical window
in October, followed by global streaming on November 7, 2025.
Visuals and design drive the film. Dan Laustsen shot the movie, lending a dense,
painterly look across interiors and landscapes. Alexandre Desplat composed the score,
blending lyrical orchestration with operatic swells. Production design by Tamara
Deverell and costumes by Kate Hawley build a fully inhabitable period world. Multiple
reviews singled out the film’s look and sound as its primary engines.
Del Toro frames the story as an emotional epic rather than a straightforward horror
picture. He discussed an inward approach to the material during the festival press,
describing an interest in grief, parentage, and the consequences of creation.
Performances form the emotional core of the film. Jacob Elordi anchors many
sequences with physical urgency and surprising tenderness. Oscar Isaac grounds the
drama with controlled intensity: Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz supply sharp, distinct
character notes.
Makeup and prosthetics play a significant role in the narrative. Reports from set and
press note that Elordi spent long prep hours to become the Creature, stating it took
about 10 hours per session and that dozens of prosthetic pieces were used. Del Toro
and other crew members described the process during festival interviews. Those
production facts shape how you will read the Creature’s gestures and stillness on
screen.
Structure leans on slow accumulation. The film’s scenes flow through the repetition of
domestic rituals, images, and musical motifs, creating a cohesive narrative. Long takes
and sustained close-ups press the viewer into the characters’ faces and small gestures.
Tone moves between lyric and violence. Del Toro keeps the film’s cruelty explicit in
selected set pieces, then returns to quieter material that tests a viewer’s patience. If
you prefer forward propulsion, plan for a patient viewing. If you value dense mise-en-
scene and actor detail, you will find material to study.
Technical craft shows in small choices. The production built a 360-degree laboratory set
that serves as a recurring locus for experiments and ritual. Costume jewels and period
ornament recur as signs of status and loss. Sound design isolates breathing, wind, and
skin to amplify personal horror in private spaces.
Narrative decisions shift the original novel’s emphasis. Del Toro offers a view of Victor’s
family lines and the traumas passed down across generations. And how this impacts the
relations between Victor and the Creature’s inner life. There are noted departures from
prior screen versions, and the approach is described as a deliberate choice to humanize
the Creature while keeping the monstrous consequences visible. Those critical points
are traceable to festival coverage and reviews.
Where the film strains, the first is its running length, which requires you to accept long
scenes of reflection. The second, an occasional excess in spectacle that can dilute
intimate beats.
Who should see this film? See it if your interest lies in actor-led drama, elaborate
design, and formal risk-taking. This film is for true del Toro fans who expect intense
imagery, patient storytelling, and work that rewards repeat viewing for visual detail.
Skip it during a busy night if you’re looking for a plot-forward thriller with brisk pacing.
That recommendation is practical and based on runtime, festival reactions, and early
reviews.
