Frankenstein 2025

I was wrong to judge this film too quickly. Akala ko magiging grotesque, exaggerated, similar sa style ni Tim Burton. Pero hindi. The first 8 minutes are full pack action. Pinakita agad yung raw strength and immortality ni The Creature. Ang ganda rin ng color palette sa umpisa, medyo green and gold. Then as the film settled in, I found myself admiring the craft behind it. I appreciate the tangible real sets, may konting CGI for environment extension pero subtle lang. The score, wardrobe, and hair and makeup are all on point. Ang galing ng prosthetics and art department. Yung mga dissection scenes are genuinely disgusting. Charles Dance brings that Tywin Lannister aura as Baron Leopold Frankenstein. Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein was perfect. Laging A-game. He really feels like a true mad scientist, especially sa pitch scene with the animated half life in front of the panel of professors. But the performances are only one layer of it. Visually, the film speaks in shadows. The use of shadows perfectly matches the emotion and intensity of scenes. Kinilabutan ako sa dark angel vision. Symbolic yung crow sa battlefield. Parang si Victor ay isang scavenger. And when he said “It is finished,” parang ginaya si Jesus tapos biglang kumulog at umulan. Yung raising of The Creature looks like a crucifixion inspired resurrection shot. The resurrection sequence was pure art. The lighting, sound, set piece, acting, VFX, special effects, lahat synchronized. Yet the brilliance of the myth doesn’t end with the birth. It begins there. After The creation, there is a void of meaning. Nakuha niya yung inaasam niya, so what's next? The film shows that imbalance visually. Mas malaki si The Creature sa frame, meaning siya na ang may control at hindi si Victor. This film makes you care for monster characters and shows another side of them. Monsters can think and feel. I think The Creature is a metaphor for the marginalized, the unwanted. Society turns away from them, so they turn to rage. That they can learn and fit in if given proper guidance and love. This is shown through the blind man (David Bradley). Victor is blinded by ambition, while the blind man is blinded by guilt. He is the total opposite of Victor. Though physically blind, he can still see through the heart of the Creature. And through him, the Creature finally feels seen. And in that realization, the film turns inward. Victor calling The Creature “wicked and deformed” while facing his own reflection tells me that his hate is now directed inward. From hating death to hating himself. And my theory was further confirmed by his brother’s dying breath: “You are the monster.” By the end, the ship feels symbolic. Victor and The Creature were stuck, cold, and broken. Now that they forgave each other, the ship has sailed, they are now finally free.