Guillermo del Toro’s New Horror Movie Can Finally Do Justice To A Misunderstood Classic Monster

Guillermo del Toro is returning to horror with Frankenstein, which can finally do justice to the most misunderstood classic monster. Guillermo del Toro has earned the title of one of the modern Masters of Horror thanks to his unique horror movies. Del Toro’s works mix horror, fantasy, and emotional depth, and his reign in the horror genre properly began in 1993 with his first feature film, Cronos. Cronos gave the world a taste of Del Toro’s style and vision, and he has since made a variety of movies, all of them rooted in fantasy with horror elements, such as Pan’s Labyrinth and Crimson Peak.

After leaving the horror genre behind with Pinocchio (though, arguably, it does have some subtle horror elements), Del Toro is now coming back to the horror genre with Frankenstein. Del Toro has already used classic monsters in his works, as he did with vampires in Cronos and his own version of the Creature from the Black Lagoon in The Shape of Water, but Frankenstein is the first of the classic monsters in his movies that isn’t a creation of his. There’s a lot of anticipation around Del Toro’s Frankenstein, especially as it can finally do justice to the Creature, arguably the most misunderstood classic monster.

Related

10 Most Iconic Portrayals Of Frankenstein’s Monster, Ranked

Dozens of actors have portrayed Frankenstein’s Monster in a litany of horror movies adapting Mary Shelley’s novel, but only one version was the best.

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein Can Be The Proper Adaptation The Novel Deserves

Guillermo del Toro has been open about his love for Frankenstein.

The official announcement of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein finally happening was received with excitement by fans of Del Toro and Mary Shelley’s novel as it’s a project that has been in development for many years. In 2007, Del Toro shared his interest in making a faithful version of Frankenstein (via JoBlo), and the following year he revealed he was in the process of crafting drawings for the design of the world of Frankenstein and was working on a script (via MTV Movies). That same year, Frankenstein was part of Del Toro’s three-year-first-look deal at Universal Pictures, but the project began to face trouble.

In 2009, Del Toro said that Frankenstein wouldn’t enter production for at least four years, but he had already cast Doug Jones as the Creature – however, Jones later revealed that the film was shelved as Universal had other plans for its Dark Universe franchise (via Collider). Just when the project seemed to have been abandoned, Netflix picked it up after Del Toro’s multi-year deal to produce projects for the streaming platform and following the success of Pinocchio. Del Toro will write and direct Frankenstein, with Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Christoph Waltz set to star in it.

Del Toro’s Frankenstein is on its way to being one of, if not the best adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel, and it’s not just because of how long Del Toro has been working on the project. Del Toro has said that Frankenstein’s Creature is one of his favorite monsters and has a special meaning for him, even saying that it’s the most important book of his life and, if he ever got to make a Frankenstein movie, it “will be the right way” (via /Film).

In addition to that, Del Toro has already shown that he has a deep understanding of monsters and their tragedies, as he did with The Shape of Water’s The Amphibian Man, proving that he will definitely understand the Creature like no other filmmaker before.

Why Filmmakers Have Gotten Frankenstein Wrong So Many Times

Frankenstein has been repeatedly misunderstood.

Frankenstein’s Creature is one of the literary characters with the most adaptations to film with over 80 movies. The first Frankenstein film adaptation was the 1910 silent short of the same name, directed by J. Searle Dawley, followed by Otto Rippert’s 1915 silent sci-fi serial movie Homunculus. The most famous film adaptations of Shelley’s novel are James Whale’s 1931 Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff as the Creature, and Kenneth Branagh’s Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, with Robert De Niro as the Creature. The latter is the closest adaptation there has been, yet it still didn’t quite get it right.

Branagh’s biggest mistake was focusing too much on the Creature’s aggression and violent moments rather than on his inner struggles and complex relationship with Victor, and made a huge change by having Victor bring Elizabeth back as another Creature. What writers and directors often fail to get right about Frankenstein is that the real villain is Victor Frankenstein, not the Creature. Many adaptations have fallen into the popular misconception of the Creature being evil and completely forgotten about his search for validation and love, especially from Victor.

What Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein Needs To Succeed As An Adaptation Of the Novel

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein needs to understand the novel & its characters.

Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is almost guaranteed to be a success no matter how faithful it is to the novel, simply because Del Toro has an impeccable track record with his monster movies – however, to succeed as an adaptation of Shelley’s novel, there are some elements that Del Toro’s movie has to include. The most important thing is that Del Toro’s Frankenstein has to break the misconception of the Creature being the villain and Victor Frankenstein being the victim, and for that, it has to portray the Creature’s complexity.

Del Toro’s Frankenstein also has to avoid the trap of making the Creature an unreasonably violent character, as many adaptations have portrayed him as an aggressive character simply because of his “monstrous” appearance. Guillermo del Toro has proven with his past works and his well-known love and admiration for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein that he’s the right person to make a faithful film adaptation of the novel, and it’s only a matter of waiting to see if he will do so.

Sources: JoBlo, MTVMovies, Collider, /Film.