Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is set to premiere on Netflix this Friday following a limited theatrical run, and the streamer has now unveiled two new posters featuring Victor (Oscar Isaac), the Creature (Jacob Elordi) and Elizabeth (Mia Goth).
At a glance, these posters appear to highlight classic character dynamics from Mary Shelley's original story - Elizabeth is Victor Frankenstein's beloved fiancée, who the Creature covets, threatens and ultimately murders - but things play out very differently in this adaptation.
Spoilers follow.
In del Toro's film, Elizabeth is actually engaged to marry Victor's brother, and though the obsessive scientist initially attempts to charm her, she ends up despising him for his cruel treatment of the Creature. Elizabeth sees a warmth and innocence in Frankenstein's "Monster," and the two form a close bond.
When the Creature regains his memories and returns to take his revenge on his creator, Elizabeth jumps in front of Frankenstein's bullet, and the devastated Creature carries her away to die in peace.
“Elizabeth is such a complex mix of love, loss, and strength—she feels very human, even in this dark, surreal world,” Goth said of her character in a recent interview. “I wanted to bring a lot of emotion to her, to show her heart and her courage, not just her sadness. It was intense, but in a very beautiful way.”
“A lot of my past roles have been more about psychological horror or survival, but Elizabeth felt different,” she adds. “She’s softer in some ways, but her emotions run so deep. It wasn’t about fear this time—it was more about love, heartbreak, and finding light in something tragic.”
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.