A release not to be overlooked on Netflix. While the returns of the series Squid Game and Stranger Things are attracting all the spotlight, another ambitious project is catching our attention. During its now traditional Netflix TUDUM, the platform gave news of its reinterpretation of a literary monument by a filmmaker who has mastered the art of immortalizing monsters.
After his sumptuous Pan's Labyrinth and The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro tackles the imagination of Mary Shelley with Frankenstein. For the occasion, the director has recruited rising stars and cinema legends. Oscar Isaac will appear in the role of the mad scientist while Jacob Elordi will be his creature. Ti West's favorite Mia Goth will play opposite Christopher Waltz and Lars Mikkelsen. Behind the scenes, del Toro himself wrote the screenplay based on Shelley's novel. He surrounded himself with his favorite composer, Alexandre Desplat, who is in charge of the original music. For the moment, his scores have not yet been revealed. The images shown at the Netflix press conference in January were accompanied by Wojciech Kilar's compositions for Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula. The story follows Doctor Frankenstein, on the cusp of a scientific feat. Fascinated by the philosopher's stone, he aims to create life from human remains. But when his creature comes to life, the scientist is overwhelmed by events.
“It’s alive!”
Monster movies are no longer really popular. Aside from recent offerings from Legendary and Universal, with King Kong and Godzilla, many studios have struggled to imagine dedicated cinematic universes. After the success of Universal Monster, a series of horror films released between 1923 and 1960, the company had tried to bring these iconic figures back to the cinema without much success. The failure of the film starring Tom Cruise had quietly put an end to Universal’s ambitions.
With its reinterpretation of Frankenstein, Netflix is instead banking on an isolated offering, included in its catalog in the sections of ambitious films, such as The Killer by David Fincher or Don’t Look Up by Adam McKay. The film already promises to be a great showcase for the company, which wants to showcase its roster of illustrious directors. It remains to be seen whether, after these first tantalizing images, Guillermo del Toro will add a new masterpiece to his filmography and whether Netflix will see it join its ranking of the most-watched English-language films in its history. We believe it will.
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