Take Two is a series from reporters (and movie buffs) Fritz Freudenberger and Isabelle Curtis to review entertainment options in the region. This month's film is 2025’s “Frankenstein,” written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth. It is currently available on Netflix. 

Is: In an era where AI-generated slop threatens to supplant human artists and movie studios green-screen their actors into CGI environments that age poorly the moment the trailers release, “Frankenstein” is a breath of fresh air that curates its gothic atmosphere through a mix of on-site filming, miniatures and full-scale constructions (including an entire 18th-century wooden ship).  

This lavish set design is complemented by equally sumptuous costuming. The hoop skirts of the love interest Lady Elizabeth’s (Mia Goth) wardrobe, whose patterns and construction evoke beetle wings, cells and mummy wrappings, were a standout, but the subtle details infused in Victor Frankenstein’s (Oscar Isaac) clothing were a delight to notice. Oh, red leather gloves that symbolize Frankenstein’s bloody corpse-stitching past time, I’m obsessed with you.   

As for the acting, while Isaac and Goth deserve their flowers, Jacob Elordi’s Creature was the scene-stealer. Capturing the transition from curious child to jaded lost soul perfectly, I found myself tearing up several times at the earnestness in Elordi’s sad-eyed performance.  

There are some small nitpicks that kept the film from being a 5/5 for me: pacing issues, departures from Shelley’s novel that I disagreed with, and one moment where the film turns to the audience and blatantly tells us that Victor is the real monster. (In case you haven’t been paying attention for the past two hours.) Still, and I speak for both of us when I say, I’m glad that the Harbor Theater secured the rights to this limited theatrical release, as it deserved to be seen on the big screen! 

4/5 stitches  

Fritz: The newest iteration of “Frankenstein” is a dark, gritty retelling of a familiar dark, gritty tale. A brooding cast of skilled actors brings the story (back) to life for a new generation. Its script, perhaps crafted with a more modern vernacular than Shelby first imagined, is approachable and still compelling in its historical tone, a feat of balance for the genre.  

Speaking of genres, this is a modern benchmark for the goth in all of us. Dark, sweeping sets of bleak stone and brick, moody grey skylines, and elaborate costumes punctuated with blood-red highlights cement the tone of the entire film. And the brooding. Each character is fighting their own internal battles, the trenches of which are carved into their fraught expressions.  

I appreciate the time spent on each character. While focused on Victor Frankenstein and his creation, the movie's supporting characters are well-developed and, contrary to what the doctor may think, not simply there to further his plot.  

However, in the end, this is a story about the power and fragility of the ego. One man’s obsession with his genius, but, like a torch in the night, blind to what falls in the shadow of its brilliance.  

I have two notable issues. First, the pacing could have been tightened to less than two and a half hours. Second, the production was skillfully crafted with extensive physical props and practical effects. However, it was then dotted with cheap CGI and after-effect filters, sabotaging its own efforts. In the end, I left the theater saying to myself, “Yeah, Netflix made this.” 

3.5/5 stiches