Del Toro’s Frankenstein Debuts Oct. 17

Guillermo del Toro has realized a lifelong passion with a Gothic reimagining of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein that debuted in limited theaters on Oct. 17 and will stream on Netflix on Nov. 7. The film stars Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as the Creature, with Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Felix Kammerer and Lars Mikkelsen in supporting roles. Early images show Elordi heavily transformed under extensive prosthetics—pale, stitched patchwork skin, long dark hair, shaved eyebrows and hollowed eyes—created in makeup sessions reported to take about 10–11 hours per day. Del Toro said he avoided an “accident‑victim” look in favor of a multicolored, newborn-like patchwork closer to Shelley’s description, and praised Elordi’s emotionally intelligent tracking of the creature’s evolution. Early critical and fan reaction has been intense, mixing fascination, flirtatious social-media responses and serious interest in how del Toro reframes a century of Frankenstein adaptations.