Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, just out on Netflix, gives us a monster we might fall in love with. Jacob Elordi’s creature is articulate and emotionally sophisticated, worlds away from the grunting brute of horror movie tradition. It’s the latest in a horde of films resurrecting our favourite monsters with unnerving tenderness. Every age gets the monsters it deserves, and ours is one in which they’re closer to us than ever.
Frankenstein’s creation has starred in over 80 direct film adaptations, from the short silent film Frankenstein (1910) to the 2010s mix of camp and gritty iterations. While Boris Karloff’s 1930s brute has long dominated the creature’s image, Elordi’s version and others of recent decades are changing that. They’re moving back to the tortured philosopher-demon of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel.
