The world premiere of Guillermo del Toro's highly-anticipated adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein took place at the Venice Film Festival yesterday, and those in attendance have been sharing their reactions online. The full review embargo has also lifted, and the critical consensus is decidedly mixed.
While a handful of critics are hailing Frankenstein as a major success and an outstanding achievement, others have outright lambasted the movie, with one disappointed pundit going so far as to describe it as "a lumbering, laborious slog." Many other reviews fall somewhere in the middle.
THR reports that the movie was met with a 14-minute standing ovation after the Venice screening that brought Del Toro and Jacob Elordi (who plays the Creature) to tears.
The film has generated an early Rotten Tomatoes score of 78% based off of 23 reviews.
Have a look at the reviews and reactions at the links below, and we'll update as more come in.
Frankenstein centers on a brilliant but egotistical scientist (Oscar Isaac) who brings a creature (Elordi) to life in an experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
“This film concludes a quest that started at age 7, when I saw James Whale’s Frankenstein films for the first time. I felt the jolt of recognition in that seminal moment: Gothic horror became my church, and Boris Karloff my Messiah,” del Toro said in a statement when the project was first announced.
Frankenstein will receive a limited theatrical release on Oct. 17, and a global bow by Netflix on Nov. 7.
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.