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A new sci-fi horror film that dropped on Netflix on Friday has already been hailed as ‘so perfect that it takes your breath away’.
Frankenstein, from esteemed director Guillermo Del Toro, is the latest movie adaptation of the 19th-century gothic novel by author Mary Shelley.
Starring Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as The Creature, the film follows Victor’s life after he creates new life under dangerous circumstances.
The film had its world premiere earlier this year, in August, before a limited theatrical release began in October, eventually landing on Netflix in November.
Critics have referred to the film as a ‘lavish epic’, and it currently boasts an impressive score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on almost 300 reviews.
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But it seems movie fans – rather than movie critics – have a much deeper love for it, with one even saying that it took their breath away upon first viewing.
X user @Nannarkin celebrated the film: ‘What a great movie. Only Guillermo del Toro knows how to make beauty in this way.
‘Every shot, every detail in the movie is so perfect that it takes your breath away. One of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen.’
Fellow user @Hanrosedav concurred, saying they were ‘absolutely floored by how beautifully detailed and well-done Frankenstein was’.
‘I already had high expectations with del Toro directing this adaptation, but Jacob Elordi’s performance as the Creature completely blew me away.’
@ModyTalkMovies added: ‘The best aspect of this movie was Jacob Elordi, his performance as The Creature is truly a standout in the movie.
‘From the physicality to the emotions in his eyes. Truly a hauntingly beautiful performance that I haven’t stopped thinking about.’
The new Netflix film has a running time of 150 minutes, which makes it a good half an hour longer than the Kenneth Branagh Frankenstein adaptation from 1994.
However, critics were much harsher on the 1994 film Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, with it currently holding a score of just 42% on Rotten Tomatoes.
What does Metro think?
Film critic Tori Brazier says:
‘Only del Toro could show the creature being built so gleefully and passionately, with body parts strewn across the lab and blood everywhere, while Alexandre Desplat’s whimsical, tinkling music swells in the background, 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.’
Read more here.
Metro film critic Tori Brazier has referred to Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein as Netflix’s ‘most epic film yet’, awarding a positive rating of four stars out of five.
She said: ‘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.’
Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro is a respected and admired horror and fantasy director, having worked on films such as Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water, and Hellboy (among others).
Most recently, before Frankstein, the filmmaker also produced an adaptation for Netflix of Pinnochio, starring Ewan McGregor and David Bradley.
That film scored a massive 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and was immediately regarded as one of the strongest adaptations of the Carlo Collodi’s 19th century novel.
Pinocchio won the director a Golden Globe for best animated feature, a Bafta for best animated film, and an Oscar for best animated feature film – Frankenstein fans will be hoping for a similar awards clean-up.
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