No Frankenstein adaptation happens in a vacuum. It’s not just Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel which precdes any new telling of the story Victor Frankenstein and his monster. Filmmakers must also contend with the 1931 James Whale movie and its superior 1935 sequel . Even the Mel Brooks spoof Young Frankenstein looms larger over any update.

So it is to his credit that Guillermo del Toro doesn’t try to be a modern Prometheus and do a wholly original take. Instead of pushing Baron Victor Frankenstein and his Creature (as he’s credited in the film— not Monster) away from Colin Clive and Boris Karloff , del Toro urges his actors to be even more emotional, more menacing, and somehow more humane. Through its lushness and empathy, combined with romantic visuals, del Toro sends a bolt of

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