October 31, 2025/Midnight
Erie, PA. – Halloween would not be Halloween without a touch of fright. And if you are still wondering how to spend this spooky night, Frankenstein is here to give you the right kind of chills.
Frankenstein is a gothic-style science fiction film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, the Academy Awards winning Mexican filmmaker. The work draws inspiration from the classic 1818 novel of the same name by Mary Shelley.
Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant scientist who wants to defeat death. He builds a new being from parts of dead bodies and brings it to life with lightning. But when he sees the creature’s frightening appearance, Victor panics and abandons it. Lonely and rejected, the creature, once longing for love, becomes filled with anger and pain – starting a tragic series of deaths of Victor’s family members.
Although the story is familiar and predictable to viewers, director Guillermo del Toro breathes new life into Frankenstein, giving it a fresh artistic vision that bears his unmistakable signature style. Not relying on typical jump scares like other modern horror films, del Toro focuses on building a dark, haunting atmosphere – one that evokes both psychological tension and deep emotional resonance.
In an interview, del Toro claimed that he was a huge fan of death and when he was first saw in Frankenstein (1931) at the age of seven, he described the creature as “my personal avatar and my personal messiah”
Rather than recreating a version of the creature already familiar to audiences, del Toro sought to craft a newborn – a complete rebirth unlike anything seen before. His monster was designed meticulously: stitched together with visible seams, marked by rough scars, and covered in pale, almost translucent skin – a being both terrifying and tragic, rich in emotion and artistic expression.
“I wanted a handmade movie of an epic scale,” Guillermo del Toro says “The sets are massive. The wardrobe and design and props are handcraft by humans.”
On Rotten Tomatoes, Frankenstein holds an impressive score – 86% from critics and 95% from audiences – reflecting its warm reception and widespread acclaim. The film is considered as one of Del Toro’s most successful projects.
Christina Newland, a film critic for the UK’s The i Paper, writes that the director “has created a powerfully entertaining, existential new version of an old story – not exactly producing something totally unique, but enlivening the familiar tale with haunting performances and some truly striking images.”
Frankenstein is set to release in selected theaters on Oct. 17 and will start streaming on Netflix on Nov. 7.
