Why Frankenstein does not deserve to be left out in the cold in the Oscars 2026 best picture race

It took director Guillermo del Toro 30 years to finally say “It’s alive!” to his Frankenstein film, with every studio passing on it until Netflix approached him. He also set high standards for himself, wanting to create “the greatest Frankenstein ever”. This passion project was ignited when he saw the 1931 film as a boy, and although Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel has been adapted hundreds of times, the master of monsters has something fresh to bring to the table… the Evelyn table.

In this version, Oscar Isaac (with a very good English accent) plays Victor Frankenstein, with Jacob Elordi as the doomed Creature he creates. There are a few notable changes from the book, which some people have welcomed, while others have criticised.

There’s the introduction of the new character Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz), a wealthy arms dealer who funds Frankenstein’s experiments. Lady Elizabeth Harlander (Mia Goth, who also plays Frankenstein’s mother Claire) is Henrich’s niece, and Victor’s brother’s fiancée. In the book, she’s called Elizabeth Lavenza, an orphan raised by the Frankenstein family as Victor’s cousin and eventual fiancée.

But the biggest difference of all is that the violent Creature in the novel is replaced by a much more sympathetic character who only lashes out in self-defence, not in fits of rage, while Frankenstein is more overtly violent and downright cruel. As Shelley always intended, the man is the monster, and the Creature is the moral one – del Toro just connects those dots even more.

The film also includes the scene where the Creature learns how to speak and read from a blind man who is unaware of what he looks like, which has often been left out of other adaptations, but is pivotal to understanding the Creature.

When Elordi made his first movie, The Kissing Booth, he was reading posts online about himself, and one said: “This plank of wood is so boring he could play nothing but Frankenstein’s Creature.” The seed was planted that he was determined to take on the role, and he plays it with so much humanity and childlike wonder. Del Toro cast him specifically because of his eyes, which exude innocence and purity.

Much has been made of how attractive Elordi is, with one BBC article even going so far as to compare his casting to “having a vegetarian Dracula” – an unfair, objectifying point to make. Yes, the Creature is meant to be hideous, but giving audiences the same bolted-neck image we’re used to seeing wouldn’t make this new or interesting.

Del Toro told Entertainment Weekly that what he “didn't want was the feeling that you were seeing an accident victim that has been patched [together]. Victor is as much an artist as he is a surgeon, and if he's been dreaming about this creature for all his life, he's going to nail it. It looks like a newborn, alabaster creature. The scars are beautiful and almost aerodynamic".

Elordi breaks your heart as the statuesque Creature seeking Frankenstein’s approval. He does the same in Wuthering Heights as Heathcliff, and that’s down to his acting – and indeed, those warm, emotive eyes. Oscar Isaac is also magnetic (and very stylish) leading Frankenstein’s descent into madness.

Although leading man Doug Jones wasn’t nominated in del Toro’s Oscar-winning film The Shape of Water for his role as Amphibian Man, Elordi is nominated for best supporting actor, which is a significant leap in recognising creature performances. They’re typically snubbed at awards shows, as is the horror genre in general.

Frankenstein has already been praised and awarded for hair and makeup (Elordi sat in the makeup chair for 10 hours having his prosthetics applied), costume design and production design, plus Elordi won at the Critics’ Choice Awards, but it would be historic to have this gothic horror awarded best picture. This is a particularly standout year for horror with Weapons, best-picture contender Sinners, which has the most Oscar nominations ever with 16 – and The Ugly Stepsister (for best make-up and hairstyling) all in the running.

It’s a huge shame that Frankenstein had a limited three-week theatrical run before its Netflix release as this film was always meant to be seen on the big screen – it’s visually stunning, with beautiful practical effects and costumes, and the Creature’s rumble of “Victorrrr” is something that deserves to be heard in surround sound.

The ending of the film is a beautiful departure from the original tale, with the Creature choosing to seek out the dying Frankenstein and forgive him. Frankenstein finally takes responsibility for being the “father” and apologises to the Creature for abandoning him, his own “son".

It’s an incredibly powerful and emotional scene, and as the Creature strides across the Arctic ice, he turns his face to the sun, like Frankenstein taught him to do, and cries – leaving us on a note of hope, rather than despair. Although the book is a masterpiece, del Toro’s ending is really touching and, dare I say, better.

After its success on the circuit so far, One Battle after Another is probably the film to beat, but Sinners’ vampires are also coming for Frankenstein’s Creature. This monster hit deserves to not be left out in the cold, but to bask in the warmth of the dazzling Oscars spotlight.

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