Tag Archives: frankenstein

It’s Alive! Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein Makes Its Netflix Debut

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Halloween might be over, but the Spooky Season never completely goes away, if you’re a horror fan. And there’s no better evidence of that than today’s Netflix debut of Frankenstein, the latest creation of Academy Award–winning director Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water, Crimson Peak, Hellboy), who not only wrote the screenplay but designed Frankenstein’s Monster as well (with some inspiration from the late artist—and Swamp Thing cocreator—Bernie Wrightson’s acclaimed illustrated version from the 1980s of Mary Shelley’s novel).

Frankenstein stars Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight, Star Wars) as Victor Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) as the Creature, Mia Goth (MaXXXine), and Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained), and with del Toro assembling a cast like that, I know what you’re thinking: Is it worth chacking out?

Well, I had the opportunity to watch Frankenstein during its limited, one-week theatrical run in October (here in NY, it was at the Netflix-owned Paris Theater, in Midtown Manhattan), and I’d have to say…yes! The cast is fantastic, the characters engaging (no “Fire…bad!” one-note approach for the Creature, here he evolves into a thinking, eloquent being, just as Shelley intended), the makeup and effects are top notch, and the look and pace of the film show that del Toro is still at the top of his game.

So, if you’re a fan of the mad doctor’s Monster, or if you’re feeling Halloween withdrawal symptoms, head over to Netflix and give Frankenstein a watch. It’ll be a great way to pass the weekend!

Happy Halloween 2025!

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It’s Halloween! And celebrations can be found everywhere, including in Pan’s home neighborhood of Sunnyside, Queens, where I took this spookily decorated window in a local thrift shop. Gee, some of those items might look pretty good in the StarWarp Concepts home office…

It’s also this year’s celebration of Frankenstein Friday, which is observed on the last Friday in October—and fortuitously enough, that just happens to be today! As to the origins of this unusual holiday, according to the calendar site Checkiday:

“Frankenstein Friday was created by Ryan MacCloskey of Westfield, New Jersey, in 1997, to celebrate the birth of the Frankenstein monster, and its creator, Mary Shelley. He created it on a Friday because of the alliteration the name makes, and because it’s easier to be festive on a Friday.”

Works for me! After all, with writer/director Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein having had a limited theatrical run a couple of weeks ago (before it heads to Netflix on November 7), who’s to say it’s not a great time to celebrate Mary Shelley’s legendary novel—especially on Halloween! (I got to see the movie during its recent limited theatrical run—definitely watch it when it debuts on Netflix, it’s a fantastic adaptation!)

So while you’re devouring all those sweet treats tonight, spend some time with Frankenstein’s Monster—he’s certainly got enough movies and cartoon appearances to keep you occupied beyond the midnight hour!

(Photo © Steven A. Roman)

A Movie Treat for Monster Fans

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frankenstein-edisonIf you’re a fan of classic monsters like Dracula, the Wolfman, and Frankenstein’s Monster, then you’re probably aware that 2018 is the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s iconic novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, first unleashed on the public in January 1818.

With that in mind, the timing couldn’t be better for the U.S. Library of Congress to make available a restored print of world-famous inventor Thomas Edison’s 1910 silent-movie adaptation—the first time Frankenstein’s Monster stalked the silver screen!

Frankenstein was a self-described “liberal adaptation of Mrs. Shelley’s famous story” by writer/director J. Searle Dawley that was produced by Edison and starred Augustus Phillips as Frankenstein (no first name of Victor given; he even signs a love letter “Frankenstein”!); Mary Fuller as his bride-to-be Elizabeth; and Charles Ogle as the monster. It runs just over 13 minutes but packs in a lot of melodrama—and scenery chewing—in that short time. (Well, overacting was a staple of silent movies.)

It’s also surprisingly gruesome in one scene. Although Frankenstein doesn’t dig up graves and sew corpses together but instead uses chemical magic to “grow” his monster in cauldron-like pot—one of those liberties taken by Dawley in his screenplay—the transformation of the creature from smoking chemical vapors to full-size horror involves a stage when it bubbles up into a gore-covered skeleton whose twitchy right hand seems to be grasping for the audience—I’m sure it scared the crap out of moviegoers back in the day!

Do yourself a favor and check it out!

Happy 200th Anniversary, Frankenstein!

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frankenstein-birthdayCan you believe it? It was 200 years ago this very day in 1818 that a small-press publishing company in London, Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, unleashed a literary monsterpiece upon the world: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus!

Despite a limited first-edition print run (only 500 copies) and no author byline (saying the book was written by a woman would have been a scandal), Frankenstein took the world by storm—so much so that when a second edition was published it was finally “okay” to give Shelley the cover credit she was due. And from that point on, Victor Frankenstein, his monster, and their creator would all achieve immortality, in a way, especially Frankenstein’s Monster, who became a cultural icon still recognized by people around the world—even the ones who’ve never read the book!

So, happy anniversary, Mary Shelley and Dr. Frankenstein, and thanks for the two centuries of monsterish thrills!