Frankenstein’s Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi power most epic film Netflix will ever have

I’ve seen Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein adaptation for Netflix, and it’s just the juicy gothic saga I hoped for, mightily powered by the dynamite duo of Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi.

Del Toro has been keen to make his own version of Mary Shelly’s tale of an inventor who lives to regret his ambition and creation for decades.

And it’s a match made in heaven, with the Pan’s Labyrinth filmmaker granted the scope and scale he needed to make another of his elaborate, exquisitely-designed worlds – and in that regard, it hasn’t come a moment too soon.

I also doubt Netflix will ever get to own a movie as truly epic, imaginative and cinematic as this again; it is a shame to confine it to the small screen of streaming so soon.

Frankenstein is as vibrant, dramatic and macabre as I expected, with deviations from the original tale which work well to support the movie as a dark study of life and death that’s better suited to the screen.

Opening in ‘the farthermost north’, we begin at the atmospheric and frozen end of the story with Victor Frankenstein (Isaac) and his creature (Elordi), hunting each other.

While Frankenstein seeks refuge with a nearby boat, the creature circles, demanding in a frankly terrifying growl of rage: ‘Bring him to me!’

However, all we see as this point is a hooded, menacing figure, features largely obscured by a mask. You’d certainly struggle to recognise it was Elordi, but the audience – sensibly – is forced to wait longer to see more.

Frankenstein then begins his story, narrating the origins of himself and his creation to the boat’s crew, a tale that spans a troubled childhood with an unforgiving father (Charles Dance) who inspires in him a thirst to conquer death following the demise of his mother.

We’re immediately treated to that del Toro visual flare too, from crimson veils as parts of lush period costumes to death masks on stone coffins and a shot of blood trickling down a chin while meat is chewed.

As Frankenstein becomes an adult, Isaac presents an arrogant but charming showman, convinced of his talents and passionate about them to the point of madness. But Isaac never overplays it, allowing Frankenstein to teeter on the edge while his impressive energy refuses to wane.

Del Toro then introduces a questionable benefactor, Herr Harlander (Christoph Waltz), who is intent on funding Frankenstein’s ‘unholy’ mission to bring a body (or bodies) back from the dead, as well as Frankenstein’s earnest brother William (Felix Kammerer) and William’s fiancée Elizabeth (Mia Goth), sparking both distraction and inspiration for the inventor. One of the few lighter moments in the film shows the pair later sparring in a confession booth, where Frankenstein’s ego takes some deserved blows.

The film’s big breakthrough moment comes in the bath, while Frankenstein’s licking his wounds, before he charges around his laboratory nude to act on his thought immediately, in a choice sure to delight many fans – the same as when Isaac later goes topless while wearing red leather gloves.

Only del Toro could show the creature being built so gleefully and passionately, with body parts strewn across the lab and blood everywhere, while whimsical, tinkling music swells in the background courtesy of Alexandre Desplat, punctuating Frankenstein cutting through a thigh, sawing off a foot and peeling back the flesh on an arm.

Unsurprisingly, gory body horror elements are presented totally unsqueamishly – opulently, even – alongside later casual brutality and violence to emphasise the creature’s lesson that the world ‘will hunt you and kill you just for being who you are’.

The film is also unapologetic in its theatrics – of course there are thunderclaps and an operatic chorus accompanying the moment of the creature’s miraculous creation.

And now to Elordi as the monster – don’t be surprised if we’re in for some sort of ‘hot Frankenstein Fall’ movement, for Elordi spends a lot of time clad simply in a pair of bandage hotpants and he’s far from Boris Karloff’s green-skinned, bolt-necked monster. This monster has been lovingly carved and put together by Frankenstein, resembling a smooth statue to show off his artistic sensibilities.

Later, when he escapes, the creature acquires a greatcoat and grows long hair, going very brooding anti-hero with his 6-foot 5-inch frame.

But while there’s no hugely dramatic physical transformation for Elordi, it’s unnecessary for this creature as played and written, who is slower to anger and like a child desperate for love and to learn – two things for which Frankenstein didn’t have the patience.

Elordi also pulls off totally altered movements without it ever seeming pantomime, while truly impressing with his voicework, which ranges from expressive grunts to the twang of a Yorkshire accent.

At 149 minutes, Frankenstein isn’t overly long – especially when we’re feasting on a delicious del Toro movie offering – but it does struggle a little with pacing towards the end. A few relationship moments seem leapt to, while others wallow more than is necessary.

The dialogue also starts to veer into the sentimental and overwritten, whereas before it was sharp and well-judged, meaning the odd moment almost (almost!) becomes cheesy. But del Toro has never been a subtle filmmaker – that’s not what we want from him – so a little earnestness isn’t too high a price to pay for everything else we’re given.

And a big part of that is the gifts of Isaac and Elordi, a perfect match for one another in challenging roles where they truly rise to the occasion. I knew they would be good, but they’re revelations, while del Toro continues to show why he’s a master of both the gothic and moviemaking.

Frankenstein premiered at Venice Film Festival on Friday. It will be released in select cinemas on October 17, before streaming exclusively on Netflix from November 7.

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