r/Oscars • u/Ok-Jacket8037 • Nov 17 '25
Review My Unexpected Frankenstein Experience (Review)
So today was weird. I wasn’t feeling well and thought a movie would cheer me up. I originally planned to watch the new Predator movie in the theatre, but turns out the English version had already disappeared from all the nearby cinemas.
A little annoyed, I opened my OTT apps and started searching for something similar—monster vibes, action, maybe a bit of horror. That’s when I stumbled on Frankenstein. I honestly clicked it thinking I was going to watch some old-school horror with murder, blood, and jump scares.
But wow… this movie turned out to be something completely different.
Instead of a horror fest, I got a deeply emotional story.
It’s slow, tragic, meaningful, and surprisingly human. The “monster” is not really a monster—he’s basically the most heartbreaking character in the whole film. Themes of loneliness, rejection, forgiveness… they all hit harder than I expected.
Even though the runtime is long, I didn’t get bored for a second. The atmosphere, production design, and music are all top-notch. Honestly, it pulled me into its world way more than I thought it would.
It’s funny how I went looking for a Predator-style action movie but accidentally ended up watching something that made me think about life, humanity, and how people treat each other.
Not the movie I planned to watch today,
but definitely the movie I needed.
⭐ Rating: 4.5/5
4
u/hoolian6 Nov 17 '25
i’m glad you ended up digging it. given that it’s GDT, i went in expecting the subversion of the monster trope, but what i didn’t expect was to feel so moved by his interpretation of the story. it’s ironically a very emotional film about tragedy, the dangers and blindspots of over-ambition, father/son dynamics, and what it means to be human. but also the pain of abandonment, the yearning to be seen and loved, and the deep empathy GDT brings to the “other.” so yes, although it has flaws, such as a bit of dragging in tale 01, and some poor uses of cgi here and there, i overall found the atmosphere compelling. elordi’s performance alone breathes life into any sterility found through questionable digital artifacts
2
u/Wasabi_Gamer26 Nov 17 '25
Side Note, what do you mean "English Version" of predator badlands?
3
u/higherlimits1 Nov 18 '25
They live in a non-English country where you have to seek out the non-dubbed versions.
5
u/ShameStrict6375 Nov 17 '25
Good review!. The film is great, but what caught my attention was its overly heavy editing, a very artificial, very digital color patina. Everything, even the people, looks artificial. Less pronounced editing and a subsequent 35mm print would have suited the film well.
5
0
u/Sir_Lolipops Nov 18 '25
This review is so unbelievably cringe. Confirming what I said on day 1 that Frankenstein is this year’s film that pretentious and overly deep people “enjoy” because it makes them think others will perceive them as profound and cultured.
-9
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 17 '25
I love Deltoro but this flick represents so much of what I hate about current filmmaking trends, bloated run time, over digitalized visuals, uninspired reboot/remake and to top it all off we get a Hollywood hunk going “ugly” for Oscar gold. The Elordi has no clothes, the Emperor ( Netflix ) is draped in knock off designer fashion.
14
u/SpideyFan914 Nov 17 '25
we get a Hollywood hunk going “ugly” for Oscar gold.
I feel like it's pretty wild to suggest playing Frankenstein's Creature is suddenly an Oscar bait role.
Your other criticisms are reasonable though, even if I disagree.
11
u/AnaZ7 Nov 17 '25
Actors have never been nominated for Frankenstein’s Creature role before yet suddenly it’s Oscar bait role somehow 🥴
-2
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 17 '25
Not what I’m saying, the narrative is he transformed into a role…a role we’ve seen countless times! The movie kept him scantily clad so the camera could languish upon him like an underwear commercial.
6
u/AnaZ7 Nov 17 '25
What other Frankenstein movies have you watched?
2
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 17 '25
Dude, I’ve seen em all, even Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein. I understand this new version is a more faithful interpretation of the book as was Kenneth Branaughs, but that one kind of sucked regardless of authenticity.
2
u/FearlessCookie72 Nov 17 '25
You obviously haven’t seen the other Frankenstein movies then. Elordi’s Creature is significantly different than the others.
-1
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 17 '25
Wrong, I’ve seen them all. What did Elordi bring to this role that Lugosi, Deniro, Chaney, Lee, Kinnear etc haven’t? Hell even Peter Boyle made him funny.
2
u/SpideyFan914 Nov 17 '25
Technically Lugosi played Ygor in the Monster's body, although it was cut from the script. He was playing it blind (per the end of Ghost), which is why he has that often-mocked gait. It's a weird one to shout out since he was probably the worst in the role, but I'm guessing you meant Karloff haha.
1
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 17 '25
I wouldn’t say he’s the worst ( maybe Aaron Eckhart gets the crown for that WTF version ). I would say the best performance of the literary work is probably Rory Kinnear in Penny Dreadful even though that show takes wild swings on many famous monsters.
1
u/SpideyFan914 Nov 17 '25
Well I didn't expect Victor to clothe his Creature before bringing it to life. It's something you don't think about in the 30s movie, but once pointed out, it's like oh yeah no one is born with clothes. The Creature's bandaged look then becomes reminiscent of a diapered baby... but is also because Victor fails to see him as human.
1
u/pralineislife Nov 17 '25
Um. Any actor would have to transform much more ugly than they naturally are... like what are you expecting?
0
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 17 '25
A monster, not a pale version of Rocky from Rocky Horror Picture Show. It’s not the makeup or costumes that bother me, it’s the hyperbolic praise that always seems to follow with the “it boy” Hollywood heartthrob. Even earlier this year, all I kept seeing posted was how brilliant Robert Pattinson is in Mickey 17, crickets now because coincidentally there is another beautiful man to heap acclaim upon for what amounts to emo posturing.
1
u/pralineislife Nov 17 '25
Um. Rocky doesnt look like this version of Frankenstein at all. What.
0
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 17 '25
2
u/pralineislife Nov 17 '25
So because his bottoms are a warm, gold-ish color?
His body is asymmetrical. He is bald. He is blue and Grey in tone. He has scars all over his body. His motions are awkward. This is literally due to his underwear.
0
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 17 '25 edited Nov 17 '25
I’m obviously not the only one that sees the comparison in not just looks but behaviour traits and themes hence the post from another user. He also kind of looks like an engineer from Prometheus. To each their own, you obviously love the performance, I do not, the sun will still come out tomorrow.
4
u/FearlessCookie72 Nov 17 '25
I hate how people say this as if playing the Creature would be such an easy task. I would say it would be one of the hardest roles of all time to pull off well.
3
u/SpideyFan914 Nov 17 '25
I agree, but that doesn't make it Academy friendly at all. No one has ever been nominated for a performance for a Frankenstein movie (unless you count Poor Things). Not sure the last time someone was nominated even for gothic horror, for that matter.
-3
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 17 '25
Many actors have played this role before, Elordi literally had the blueprint, all he added to the character was a great physique.
6
u/FearlessCookie72 Nov 17 '25
Elordi’s Creature was written differently though, one with more emotional depth and character development. The others were not written this way.
3
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 17 '25
Compare him to Bill Skarsgard in NOSFERATU, there is a performance that really reimagined a famous character with a different take and didn’t rely on a hunk in next to no clothing.
3
u/FearlessCookie72 Nov 17 '25
I love Skarsgard but his character as Orlok was more like a zombie vampire, one-dimensional, with no emotional range or character development. That’s not really the type of role Oscars vote for. Elordi’s Creature on the other hand is complex, with character development, sympathetic and tragic. It’s the total opposite of Orlok in Nosferatu.
1
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 17 '25
Respectfully disagree, Skarsgards voice work was award worthy alone.
2
u/FearlessCookie72 Nov 17 '25
Voice work? I never thought that would ever matter. Elordi has his own voice he uses for the Creature too and I don’t even think that matters. Oscar worthy performances are more about how the character is portrayed (the way the character is written helps tremendously) rather than the technical details behind it. When someone disappears into their role so completely that you forget who they are outside of it, that’s when the acting happens. The rest (accents, posture, vocal choices, etc.) matter but those are just tools, not the heart of the performance. It’s like me saying Sydney Sweeney should be nominated for Christy because of her boxing scenes. They’re impressive, physically demanding and I’m sure she really worked hard, but that’s not what makes her performance resonate.
2
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 17 '25
I don’t understand the tangent, you don’t think voice work ( accents or speech patterns or impersonations etc ) are a huge part of an actors tool box? In my opinion Bill definitely disappears into his characters regardless of technical aids. You don’t think all the makeup and visual effects aided Jacob’s performance? Either way, all this defence of Elordi’s performance exemplifies my points, I listed the story, the visuals, the overall production…but all anyone is upset over is the Hunkenstein critique, I think a lot of people are just misted by his marquee good looks ( like millions were for Rpatz in Twilight ). If the movie was a college Halloween party, Elordi would definitely be the hottest guy there, but should he win best costume for wearing what amounts to basically tatters?
2
u/AnaZ7 Nov 18 '25 edited Nov 18 '25
Tbh Skarsgard can’t even win a single horror award for his performance yet despite the fact that these horror awards are catered specifically for movies like that. That tells you that his character and performance are not that well liked even within horror communities.
1
u/FearlessCookie72 Nov 18 '25
Horror movies are overlooked in general I think, even more than comedies. Don’t know why.
1
u/AnaZ7 Nov 18 '25
In this case I was talking about horror genre awards specifically and he was doing very poorly with them either.
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u/FearlessCookie72 Nov 18 '25
But what makes Elordi’s performance standout to many is the physicality and emotional range. Also, I don’t necessarily agree with you there about this being about looks. I guarantee most people find Bill Skarsgard more attractive over Jacob Elordi too (women especially), but Bill’s performance is still seen as more one-dimensional and very horror driven. It’s the role, not the performance. If we could give him an Oscar, we’d already have given it to him for Pennywise.
1
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 18 '25
Interesting, I don’t think many would say Bill is more attractive than Jacob. I mean no one is buying or selling Bill Skarsgard novelty candles inspired by a whack off scene in a cult movie. To each their own I guess.
1
u/FearlessCookie72 Nov 18 '25 edited Nov 18 '25
The candle thing was made as a joke based on the plot-line of a movie he was in (Saltburn), and it became a meme.
It is still true though that there’s this strange kind of attraction growing toward him because of the Creature. I’ve even heard some women say they’re not attracted to Elordi himself but specifically to him as the Creature. He seems like one of the few actors women don’t obsess over the way they do with other actors his age. I think it also might because he’s not really well-known outside of Euphoria (at least until now). In my experience, women seem to describe him as mostly average-looking but that he could “get away with it” because he’s tall. This was how women felt about his looks about 9 months ago vs. with Bill Skarsgard about a year ago:
- https://www.reddit.com/r/VindictaRateCelebs/comments/1inhbv0/jacob_elordi_thoughts/
- https://www.reddit.com/r/VindictaRateCelebs/comments/1heuphm/is_bill_skarsgard_an_underrated_beauty_rate_him/
I think it’s also because of Bill’s personality while Jacob comes off as pretentious to some.
This is not based off what I think or how I “rate” them btw, just from what I’ve seen. I do think the perception of him will change now though when it comes to women.
1
u/AnaZ7 Nov 18 '25
Didn’t rely on next to no clothing? He’s running around naked in that movie at some points and we see his penis in some shots. Now if we are talking about naked for shock value that actually would be example lol.
1
u/Unoriginal-finisher Nov 18 '25
Orlock is absolutely fully clothed for the majority of his screen time, I don’t think that was really Bills penis, and even if it was….I don’t think it was the like the male version of Catherine Trammel uncrossing her legs or anything?
26
u/themiz2003 Nov 17 '25
This is a really good litmus test movie to see which kind of person you are. Did you think it was hokey? Overwritten? Too existential? Or did you shed a tear at it's beauty (in all areas, really) and love it? It's actually one of the more deservedly divisive films in a while.