Guillermo del Toro is a modern master. While many consider the 61-year-old filmmaker a maestro of horror, he has proven to rise above the unfair perceptions critics sometimes have of the genre by consistently earning Oscar nominations and winning a best picture for his 2017 film, “The Shape of Water.” 

After garnering so much success and acclaim, also winning animated best picture in 2023 with “Pinocchio,” Del Toro has a lot of pressure to impress with his next monstrous entry into his filmography, and impress he does in his giant, operatic take on the original monster story, “Frankenstein.”

Starring Oscar Isaac as the titular scientist Victor Frankenstein, the film carries all of Del Toro’s signature traits: beautiful imagery, religious subtext, empathetic “monsters” and psychopathic humans that are the true villains of the story. 

These traits are generally Del Toro’s greatest strength. His ability to create unique stories out of  the tired “maybe the humans are the real monsters” theme is outstanding, and “Frankenstein” repeats this success streak — mostly. 

Jacob Elordi’s performance as the creature is outstanding. He brings a childlike warmth to the stitched-together man, contorting his body in ways that really speak to his painful existence, embodying life and death simultaneously. 

Isaac goes above and beyond, playing Victor Frankenstein with an almost swashbuckling take on insanity. He’s smooth and sexy, but ultimately still mad. 

Isaac does the most he can with the material, bringing as much of a sympathetic edge as possible to an adaptation of the famed character who, to an extent, feels a bit flat. 

While the creature is the beating heart of the film and gets plenty of screen time, Frankenstein is the spine that holds the whole tale together. However, that spine perhaps needed a few more lightning strikes to really bring the film to life. 

Del Toro is known for his ability to create empathetic monsters, and here is no different, but where he falls flat is his ability to make Frankenstein’s emotional arc feel as earned as his creature’s. 

There’s a lack of warmth given to Frankenstein. While we understand why he is the way he is to some extent, at no point does the film really give us a reason to root for him. 

Sure, the character has a sad backstory, but it feels lost once he reaches adolescence. His journey for greatness feels less personal, and more like an excuse to really get to the good stuff. 

But there’s no denying how good the good stuff is. 

When “Frankenstein” focuses on the creature, the emotions are palpable. The film finds its voice as the creature does, with his storyline being the vein that carries emotion to the heart of the story. 

The creature’s thematic string, the idea of generational abuse from fathers echoing until it completely destroys a family, is what makes Del Toro’s “Frankenstein” ultimately work. 

While “Frankenstein’s” emotional journey doesn’t completely connect, the ideas are still strong and confidently explored by our two main actors to still draw a tear from the eye.  

It’s a well-constructed film, a visual marvel unlike any other horror flick out there, and paced with total expertise that never feels bloated despite its generation-spanning narrative. 

“Frankenstein” is impressive. While it doesn’t always sufficiently explore its titular character, the film still manages to capture Del Toro’s signature sincerity, reminding us why he remains the king of the monsters. 

Frankenstein is available on Netflix on Nov. 7.

Copy edited by Mya DeJesus