Guillermo del Toro has revived one of literature’s most iconic monsters with his Netflix film Frankenstein. While the story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation has been adapted countless times since Mary Shelley first published her 1818 novel Frankenstein, Del Toro’s version offers a new interpretation that has captured the attention of audiences and critics alike. The filmmaker has long emphasized that his take on the tale is not meant to be a traditional horror film but rather a more emotional and philosophical look at the classic story.
Leading up to the film’s debut, Del Toro explained that Shelley’s novel served as a guiding influence for the project. “Mary Shelley’s masterpiece is rife with questions that burn brightly in my soul: existential, tender, savage, doomed questions that only burn in a young mind and only adults and institutions believe they can answer,” he told Netflix’s Tudum, adding that the book was his “Bible” while developing the movie. Still, the director wanted to reinterpret the story in his own way, saying he hoped to “sing it back in a different key with a different emotion.”
Unlike many adaptations of 19th-century classics that lean heavily into period aesthetics, Del Toro has said he wanted the film to feel more immediate and alive. “When [Shelley] wrote Frankenstein, it was not a period piece. It was a modern book, so I didn’t want you to see a pastel-colored period piece,” he explained.
Here, Hollywood Life compares Del Toro’s movie with Shelley’s original Frankenstein novel.
Victor’s Father in Frankenstein Book vs. the 2025 Movie
Victor’s father, Alphonse, is a loving and generous father to Victor in the book, and he dies of grief.
In the movie, however, Victor’s father is an abusive doctor named Baron Leopold Frankenstein, who practically loathes his eldest son and wife, Baroness Claire Frankenstein. Leopold instills in Victor that he must maintain his legacy as a Frankenstein and raises him to be a surgeon.
Victor’s Mother in the Book vs. the Movie
Victor’s mother in the book is named Caroline, and she dies of scarlet fever. In the film, the mother’s name is Baroness Claire Frankenstein, and she dies a violent death while giving birth to her second son, William.
Elizabeth in the Frankenstein Book vs. the Movie
The character Elizabeth is a different figure in Shelley’s work and in Del Toro’s film. In the book, her name is Elizabeth Lavenza, Victor’s childhood friend, whom he is engaged to marry.
In the movie, the character’s name is Lady Elizabeth Harlander, and she is engaged to Victor’s younger brother, William. She and Victor form a playful bond over their shared love of science, but she ultimately rejects Victor’s romantic advance and empathizes with the Creature.
Elizabeth’s wedding night in the book is also a stark contrast to the one in the movie. The film emphasizes Victor’s own monstrous and impulsive ego when he catches Elizabeth and the Creature talking on her wedding night. Victor urges her to get away from the Creature as he prepares to shoot him, but Elizabeth takes the bullet in the chest. She dies at the hands of Victor as the Creature carries her to a cave-like grave.
In the book, the Creature murders Elizabeth to get revenge on Victor. He strangles her on the couple’s wedding night.
The Creature’s Companion in the Book vs. the Movie
In Shelley’s novel, the Creature asks Victor to build him a female companion, to which the scientist agrees. However, Victor starts to worry about the possibility that his female creature could procreate. So, he destroys her.
In the movie, Victor quickly rebuffs his creation’s request and expresses his disdain for a female creature’s ability to reproduce. No production on a female companion ever begins in the movie.
The Creature’s Potential to Die: Books vs. the Movie
At the end of the novel, the Creature encounters an expedition of soldiers sailing through the frozen Arctic (similar to the movie), and he tells their captain his intention to burn himself. Whether or not he goes through with his death is unknown, but he is not dead at the end of the book.
In the movie, the Creature is unable to die. He cannot be fatally burned, stabbed or shot. His fate is left up in the air as he walks into the Arctic alone after helping the crew of soldiers sail back home.
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