Guillermo del Toro Says His FRANKENSTEIN Isn’t a Horror Movie, It’s an Emotional Story About Fathers, Sons, and the Misunderstood

Guillermo del Toro is putting a tender, human spin on the liconic Frankenstein story, and he’s not interested in scaring you.

During a recent panel at the Cannes Film Festival with composer Alexandre Desplat, del Toro opened up about his long-gestating adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which he’s directing for Netflix. And for those expecting a straight-up horror movie? Don’t. Del Toro explained:

“Somebody asked me the other day, does it have really scary scenes? For the first time, I considered that. It’s an emotional story for me. It’s as personal as anything. I’m asking a question about being a father, being a son… I’m not doing a horror movie — ever. I’m not trying to do that.”

That perspective shouldn’t come as a surprise to fans of del Toro’s work. Whether it’s The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth, or Hellboy, his stories often center on creatures the world sees as monsters, and instead reveal something deeply empathetic and human within them.

Desplat, who’s working with del Toro again on Frankenstein, echoed that emotional focus, saying:

“Guillermo’s cinema is very lyrical, and my music is rather lyrical too. So I think the music of Frankenstein will be something very lyrical and emotional… I’m not trying to write horrific music.”

The duo haven’t finalized the score just yet, but they’re zeroing in on the film’s emotional core. Del Toro added:

“We’re finding the emotion, and what I can say is, for me, it’s an incredibly emotional movie.”

Their approach leans into the heart of the story rather than the horror, a direction Del Toro’s been circling for decades. He even traced his fascination with the creature back to a scene from Billy Wilder’s The Seven Year Itch.

“The first time I thought I was going to avenge the creature was when Marilyn Monroe is coming out [of the movies] in The Seven Year Itch with Tom Ewell, and she says the creature just needed somebody to like him.

“I fell in love with Marilyn, and I fell in love with the creature in that scene at a very early age. And I thought, you know, all we have is people that look at people the wrong way. That’s what we have in this world.”

Frankenstein stars Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac, and Mia Goth and is expected to debut on Netflix later this fall. If del Toro’s comments are any indication, this will be a Frankenstein that breaks your heart before it tries to raise your pulse.

Source: Variety