Welcome to Horror Explorer, a curated column showcasing the month’s best movies, series, books and everything else spooky worth checking out. I’m William Earl, the executive digital director of Variety and the publication’s resident horror enthusiast. Please drop me a line at [email protected] if there’s something I should check out for next month’s missive.
Netflix has unveiled the trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming directorial, Frankenstein. Following a praiseworthy run at the film festivals, the movie will now be available to stream for the audience in the comfort of their homes. As the trailer for the new horror-thriller film was dropped on October 1, the audience got a deeper glimpse into the characters of Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac. Mia Goth will also portray a pivotal role in the film.
The new Guillermo del Toro directorial is about an egoistic yet brilliant scientist, Victor von Frankenstein, played by Oscar Isaac, who brings a dangerous monster, played by Jacob Elordi, to life during an experiment. His daring move, however, causes a havoc-like situation for the creator, as well as the world. The trailer gives the audience a deeper look into Elordi’s character as he transforms into a resurrected monster.
The official synopsis of the movie reads, “Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro reimagines Mary Shelley’s classic tale of a brilliant scientist and the creature his monstrous ambition brings to life.”
Apart from the visuals, the viewers can also hear multiple voice-overs by the Euphoria star. The movie is an adaptation of the epic Mary Shelley novel, and the filmmaker has been working on it for over a decade.
As for Frankenstein’s run at the film festivals, the director, along with his team, premiered the cinematic piece at the Venice Film Festival, the Telluride Film Festival, and the Toronto Film Festival. The film was announced to be the runner-up at the TIFF for the fest’s coveted People’s Choice Award.
Also read: Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein shakes up Venice Film Festival, gets longest standing ovation so far
While speaking to Variety, Guillermo del Toro revealed that Frankenstein, for him, is about the “human spirit.” He said, “The usual discourse of Frankenstein has to do with science gone awry. But for me, it’s about the human spirit. It’s not a cautionary tale: it’s about forgiveness, understanding, and the importance of listening to each other.”
Frankenstein will be available in select theaters on October 17 and to stream on Netflix from November 7.
Frankenstein will release on Netflix on November 7, 2025.
Frankenstein is directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Yes. Jacob Elordi will play the role of the monster in Frankenstein.
The “Euphoria” heartthrob enters the awards race with his transformative turn as Frankenstein’s monster in Guillermo del Toro’s lavish Mary Shelley adaptation.
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Mia Goth is starring in Guillermo del Toro‘s adaptation of Frankenstein, which had its world premiere at the 82nd Vencie International Film Festival in August 2025. Slated for a November 2025 Netflix release, the movie features Mia as Elizabeth Lavenza.
She’s also known for a seemingly volatile on/off relationship with Shia LaBeouf. Here’s what else to know about Mia.
She was born in London but moved to her Brazilian mother’s homeland as a child. She was raised there before moving back to England when she was a teenager.
MIA GOTH. pic.twitter.com/koviAtDwVQ
— best of mia goth (@gothfiles) August 31, 2025
After she moved back to London, she was discovered by Storm Model Management when she was just 13. Her slim figure, alluring eyes and pillowy lips landed her numerous modeling campaigns. She’s currently the face of Prada’s latest fragrance.
Mia has had a famously tumultuous relationship with Holes actor Shia LaBeouf, punctuated by drama and intermittent splits. The romance began in 2012. However, in Mar. 2016, he told a cashier at an Los Angeles area Gelson’s that he was marrying Mia, and she was spotted with a diamond engagement ring on her hand.
They held a quickie commitment ceremony in Las Vegas in 2016 — with an Elvis Presley impersonator officiating! It wasn’t a legal wedding, according to a local official — but Shia later confirmed the marriage on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. They split two years later and filed for divorce amid Shia’s romance with FKA twigs, which eventually fizzled out — as did a reported relationship with Margaret Qualley.
The duo reconciled in February 2022 amid news of Mia’s pregnancy with the Transformers actor.
MOVIE STAR pic.twitter.com/vYl2au6rK0
— best of mia goth (@gothfiles) August 30, 2025
Shia and Mia welcomed their first child together in March of 2022, with PEOPLE confirming the news after the couple was seen in April of 2022 pushing a stroller in Pasadena. Later, another outlet reported that Shia had shared both the sex and name of their child.
“I have a little girl, Isabel; she is five months old and just beginning to develop the last half of her laugh; it’s AMAZING,” he reportedly wrote in a letter to Olivia Wilde, published by Variety in August of 2022. “Mia, my wife & I have found each other again & are journeying toward a healthy family with love and mutual respect.”
Guillermo del Toro insists his forthcoming film Frankenstein is not a warning about artificial intelligence.
Guillermo del Toro insists his forthcoming film Frankenstein is not a warning about artificial intelligence
The 60-year-old director – whose earlier work The Shape of Water won the Golden Lion at Venice in 2017 – addressed questions about AI at the film’s official press conference on Saturday (30.08.25) afternoon ahead of its world premiere, when his $120 million monster movie, starring Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac will debut in competition for the festival’s top prize.
Revealing his new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel is about humanity, imperfection and power rather than technology, Guillermo said: “It’s not intended as a metaphor for that (the dangers of AI.)
“We live in a time of terror and intimidation, certainly.
“And there’s no more urgent task than to remain, in a time where everything is pushing towards a bipolar understanding of our humanity.
“The movie tries to show imperfect characters and the right we have to remain imperfect, and the right we have to understand each other under the most oppressive circumstances.”
He added with a smile: “I’m not afraid of artificial intelligence. I’m afraid of natural stupidity.”
In the new version of Frankenstein, Jacob plays the creature locked in conflict with his creator Victor Frankenstein, played by Oscar.
Guillermo added he imagined the film not as a conventional horror story but as a layered family drama. He said: “I’ve been following the creature since I was a kid.
“I waited for the movie to be done in the right conditions, both creatively in terms of achieving the scope to make it different, and to make it at a scale that you could reconstruct the whole world. I’m in postpartum depression now that it’s finished.”
Jacob was asked at the same event who in society he views as monstrous.
He answered: “Men in suits.”
Guillermo interjected: “Very well tailored (suits.)”
Oscar was also at the event and recalled his first conversations with Guillermo about taking the role of Victor.
He said: “I can’t believe that I’m here right now. I can’t believe we got to this place from two years ago, sitting at (Guillermo’s) table eating Cuban pork and talking about our fathers and our lives, to him saying, ‘I want you to be Victor,’ then not really being sure if it was true or if I was just dreaming. It just seemed like such a pinnacle.”
by Alex Billington
August 30, 2025
“In seeking life, I created death.” The timeless story of Dr. Frankenstein and his Monster returns to the big screen again in this brand new version of Frankenstein. For his 13th movie, Mexican maestro Guillermo del Toro adapts Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel of the same name and brings his vision of this tale to screens – with a gothic, macabre, brutal, and mesmerizing take on this well-known story. Much like del Toro’s version of the classic story of Pinocchio from a few years ago, he infuses this Frankenstein with so many unique and intriguing ideas, expanding upon the original story and adding depth into every single frame of it. I LOVED this movie. Right from the start, with an action-packed opening scene set on a Danish ship trapped in ice, I knew we were in for a magnificent tale of madness and this delivers on that promise. Part creature feature, part emotional exploration of what makes us human, part horror, part love story, it’s a mash-up of all of del Toro’s favorite things in one spectacular cinematic creation. Yes it is yet another Netflix movie destined for streaming but I don’t care, it’s beautiful creation no matter what. I’m especially lucky to have had a chance to view it on the big screen and enjoy every last second of it as a thrilling, heart-pounding, vivid experience.
Everyone already knows that Guillermo del Toro is a master storyteller & cinema maven. He’s won plenty of Oscars already, he’s even won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival before (for The Shape of Water in 2017). He is still as voracious and masterful as ever and Frankenstein is one of his best. Del Toro is also credited as the sole writer on this adapting Mary Shelley’s original story about Dr. Victor Frankenstein and his Monster creation. He sticks closer to what is in the book and does not attempt to reinvent or re-imagine this story in any new way, which is fine, he doesn’t need to as it’s still a riveting story to tell especially with his vision. What he does do is embellish in the visuals and the emotions – letting all the extraordinary sets & cinematography become characters of their own. Del Toro’s Frankenstein tells the original 1800s version of the story following Victor, played with exceptional verve by Oscar Isaac, as he grows up through a troubled childhood to become a mad scientist / surgeon hellbent on figuring out how to stop death. This ultimately leads him to exploring the uncanny act of creating life from death – and his greatest experiment involves putting together a body from various parts and re-animating it with the electricity captured from lightning.
Goodness it is always so refreshing & thrilling when a filmmaker actually has a VISION for their work. Not just someone shooting what’s in the script and getting it on screen in the most generic way. A real visionary filmmaker has a complete focus on the details & every last part of the film so that that there’s real meaning and depth in every shot. Everything matters. This is the true glory of fantastic cinema. Guillermo del Toro is one of the greatest filmmakers of our times whose vision remains entirely singular & cinematically exciting. This story obviously means a great deal to him and it feels like his life’s work to adapt the classic tale of The Monster with his distinct flourishes. He knocked this one out of the park. It’s everything that cinema should be – beautiful, thrilling, engaging, emotional, satisfying. The score, sets, cinematography, performances are all ravishing. I am buzzing thinking about and writing about this movie. There’s a propulsive, powerful drive del Toro’s storytelling that pulls viewers in and keeps them hooked. This drive is also what keeps the movie’s pacing lurching forward – it’s nearly 2 & 1/2 hours long but there is a lot to get through, from his childhood, to the birth of The Monster, to the violent aftermath, to the Monster’s own story when it all comes full circle.
My favorite segment of the movie is in the second half when The Monster himself, played by Jacob Elordi, finally gets to tell his side of the story. This seems to be where other reviewers have been getting frustrated as it humanizes The Monster in a way that gives him more depth than the classic version of this character presented iconically by Boris Karloff. It’s actually quite stirring to switch to this side and learn about what makes us human – which is an important aspect in the emotional core of del Toro’s take on Mary Shelley’s tale. Guillermo is often at his best when he lets the wise old man teach us about life – one of my favorites in his filmography is John Hurt as “Broom” in the first Hellboy. In this movie we get British character actor David Bradley as the Blind Man. In fact, all the performances are tremendous. Finally we get Oscar Isaac digging into a role again (it has been a bit), giving it all his all, confronting his darkness and presenting a well-rounded take on this character. Del Toro said during the press conference that this Frankenstein movie is about the various flaws in all people and how these flaws, these imperfections, are part of humanity, part of our existence, part of what makes us all unique. Isaac embraces that uniqueness ever so (ahem) perfectly.
I can’t wait to watch it again. Del Toro’s Frankenstein is a cinematic triumph. It represents his growth as a filmmaker and exemplifies his storytelling prowess. Much like Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpieces, I can sense every storyboard, every decision that led to every single shot working as wonderfully as it does on screen. The cinematography by DP Dan Laustsen is to die for – and be brought back to life by because it’s awe-inspiring to look at all the time. Light pouring in from everywhere, lush colors, vivid details. It’s not exactly realistic, but neither is this story, it’s a fantastical tale of darkness. Maybe this fancy, showy cinematography style won’t work for everyone, but I loved everything about it. As an example of the attention to detail, the way Del Toro makes sure that glowing orange embers float away from The Monster’s robes after he is shot represents how this kind of tiny, usually unnoticeable detail is part of the magic of visionary filmmaking. Frankenstein isn’t a completely new reinvention but is now the best version of Victor & The Monster’s story made for the screen. An instant favorite. This is why I go to the movies – for this kind of enchanting cinema.
Alex’s Venice 2025 Rating: 9 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter – @firstshowing / Or Letterboxd – @firstshowing
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Guillermo del Toro‘s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein launches at the Venice Film Festival today and the filmmaker, cast and backers Netflix were at the film’s Lido press conference.
Oscar Isaac stars as Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature (Jacob Elordi) to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
Oscar winner Del Toro was asked by a journalist — sitting a row back from Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos — whether he would have liked more than a three-week theatrical run for his big-budget spectacle?
Del Toro quipped initially: “Yeah. I mean, look, look at my size. I always want more of everything,” before adding of the $120M movie: “To me, the battle we are going to fight in telling stories is on two fronts, obviously the size of the screen, but the size of the ideas is very important. The size of the ambition. Can we reclaim scale, and reclaim scale of ideas. It’s a dialogue, and it’s a very fluid dialogue. I’m very happy. You never know what’s going to happen….To reach more than 300 million viewers, you take the opportunity and the challenge to make a movie that can transform itself and that evokes cinema.”
Del Toro said of his inspiration for making the movie: “It was a religion for me. Since I was a kid — I was raised very Catholic — I never quite understood the saints. And then when I saw Boris Karloff on the screen, I understood what a saint or a messiah looked like. So I’ve been following the creature since I was a kid, and I always waited for the movie to be done in the right conditions, both creatively in terms of achieving the scope that it needed for me to make it different, to make it at a scale that you could reconstruct the whole world.”
Del Toro was asked about the danger AI and technology poses to humanity: “We live in a time of terror and intimidation, certainly. And the answer, which art is part of, is love. For me, forgiveness is part of love and so many other things. And the central question in the novel from the beginning is, what is it to be human? What makes us human? And there’s no more urgent task than to remain human in a time where everything is pushing towards bipolar understanding of our humanity…I think that the movie tries to show imperfect characters and the right we have to remain imperfect, and the right we have to understand each other under the most oppressive of circumstances. It is very biographical to me, but it is, I think, biographical for anyone that tries to preserve their soul in the times we’re living in. And to me, artificial intelligence I’m not afraid of; I’m afraid of natural stupidity, which is much more abundant.”
Oscar Isaac described the journey he had been on since meeting Del Toro about the part two years prior: “I can’t believe that I’m here right now. I can’t believe we got to this place from two years ago, sitting at your table [looking at Del Toro] eating Cuban pork; just talking about our fathers and our life too…It was like a fusion. I just hooked myself into Guillermo, and we flung ourselves down the well.”
Elordi said he poured his whole being into the role of the monster: “It was a vessel that I could put every part of myself into. From the moment that I was born to being here with you today, all of it is, is in that character. And in so many ways, the the creature that’s on screen in this movie is the sort of purest form of myself. He’s more me than than I am.”
At Netflix’s Tudum event earlier this year, Del Toro called the film “the culmination of a journey that has occupied most of my life,” adding, “Monsters have become my personal belief system. There are strands of Frankenstein through my films.”
Coming off his third Oscar win for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, another literary adaptation for Netflix, Del Toro’s Frankenstein also stars Mia Goth (X), Felix Kammerer (All Quiet on the Western Front), Lars Mikkelsen (The Witcher), David Bradley (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio), Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) and Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds).
Del Toro directed from his own script and produced alongside J. Miles Dale and Scott Stuber.