Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein" made its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on Saturday, August 30, 2025. The film, a gothic science fiction horror adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic 1818 novel, stars Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as the Creature. The premiere has kicked off what is expected to be a major awards season push for the film.

The Venice Film Festival, which runs from August 27 to September 6, 2025, is hosting a number of high-profile films this year. "Frankenstein" is competing for the top awards alongside films such as Yorgos Lanthimos's "Bugonia," Kathryn Bigelow's "A House of Dynamite," and Park Chan-wook's "No Other Choice". Alexander Payne is leading the jury that will announce the winners on September 6.

Del Toro has been envisioning this project for decades. According to the Associated Press, he stated that he has been "in training for 30 years to do" this movie. Speaking in Venice, del Toro described feeling a sense of "postpartum depression" after completing the film, which he calls a gothic feast of sets. Isaac shared that del Toro told him before filming, "I'm creating this banquet for you, you just have to show up and eat". Isaac added, "This film feels particularly personal. I think ultimately it is about outsiders". Elordi, who joined the production later in the process, expressed that he related to the childlike monster and found it to be "a vessel that I could put every part of myself into," stating, "He's more me than I am".

The film's cast includes Mia Goth as Elizabeth Lavenza, Felix Kammerer as William Frankenstein, Lars Mikkelsen as Captain Anderson, David Bradley as the Blind Man, Lauren Collins as Claire Frankenstein, Charles Dance as Leopold Frankenstein, and Christoph Waltz as Henrich Harlander.

Del Toro has clarified that "Frankenstein" is not a horror film, but rather "an emotional story" about being a father and a son. He stated, "I'm not doing a horror movie—ever. I'm not trying to do that".

Critics have described "Frankenstein" as a lush, emotional, and highly accurate retelling of Mary Shelley's classic tale. James Mottram of RadioTimes.com gave the film five stars, praising the cinematography, score, and production design. Steven Pond of TheWrap called it a “wildly enjoyable and deeply touching movie,” noting that del Toro's passion for the story "drips from every frame”. Pete Hammond of Deadline wrote that del Toro "turns it into a fascinating and thoughtful tale on what it means to be a human, and who is really the monster?".

Netflix plans to release "Frankenstein" in theaters on October 17, 2025, before it becomes available on the streaming platform on November 7, 2025.