Frankenstein

Guillermo del Toro fulfils his teenage obsession with Mary Shelley’s novel, continuing his work of reinterpreting classic Hollywood monsters and outsiders.

After an Arctic expedition becomes marooned in rapidly freezing waters, the ship’s crew encounters two strangers on the ice – one in desperate pursuit of the other.

The first is Dr Victor Frankenstein, who recounts his story of ambition, innovation and desire to conquer death to the ship’s captain.

The second stranger is another beast entirely. He is a seemingly indestructible monster with murder on his mind and his own story to tell.

Curator’s note
In much the same way that writer Mary Shelley gave humanity to the monstrous in her 1818 Gothic novel – and her Victor Frankston gave life to the dead – Guillermo del Toro has given heart to his profoundly personal adaptation of the novel and the classic Hollywood horror film.

There’s grotesquerie in del Toro’s Frankenstein, to be sure, but there’s also enormous beauty in all avenues of production design led by Tamara Deverell, who received an Oscar nomination for her exquisite work with del Toro on Nightmare Alley in 2022. Kate Hawley’s costume design, incorporating vintage Tiffany & Co. jewellery and vibrant colour that cuts through the screen, elevates the film beyond a period horror into the lusciously otherworldly.

– Reece Goodwin, Senior Programmer (Film & Screen Industry)