In spite of claims for this new version of the old Mary Shelly shocker: frank, faithful, ‘real,’ in the long list of film adaptations of THE NEW PROMETHEUS, the final moral of FRANKENSTEIN has always been the same: the dangers of man playing God. Or has been till now. This time, the classic myth on man & monster teaches a new lesson: Beware of Passion Projects. Sure, there are exceptions like John Huston’s THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING/’75, but you’re far more likely to get Francis Ford Coppola’s MEGALOPOLIS/’24. (Not seen here; but then, not seen anywhere.*) And Guillermo del Toro falls right into the trap with this heavy-laden FRANKENSTEIN. Immediately hailed by critics and viewers before its speedy skedaddle to NetFlix streaming, it’s a cross between a Tim Burton ‘goth’ rehash and an over-dressed Franco Zeffirelli extravagance that can’t be bothered with a mere God & Man conflict. In fact, we skip right past the human element to hit up John Carpenter’s THE THING/’82 for resurrection. (Or if you insist, Howard Hawks/Christian Nyby’s THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD/’51.) Hence our North Pole prologue. And del Toro doesn’t even bring his specific vision alive, ‘practical’ sets warring against model work and rubbery CGI wolves, sheep and stunting. Acting little better . . . or rather, so inconsistent in style, it’s all but impossible to adjust between high theatrical camp and mumbling method. (But credit for getting dramatic milage out of Oscar Isaac’s bad doctor at nearly a foot shorter than towering Jacobi Elordi’s ‘Creature.’ And since commercial results have been buried in the Black Hole of NetFlix mystery numbers game, there’s little chance this gifted writer/director will take a Francis Ford Coppola lesson from it.
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: Without any claims toward ‘accuracy,' surprise yourself with the 1931 original. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2008/05/frankenstein-1931.html
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *Even Alfred Hitchcock was restrained from giving in to his longtime passion project, the otherworldly MARY ROSE, by a clause in his ‘60s Universal contract that allowed him to make any project he fancied, funded by up to 5 mill by Universal, except MARY ROSE.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: *Of course, The Monster is Dr. Frankenstein’s personal passion project. And look how that turned out.
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