Seeing Frankenstein in Theaters: What Guillermo del Toro Taught Me About Storytelling

I recently did something I don’t often do—I went to a theater to watch a Netflix movie. Sitting in a dark auditorium as the familiar da-dun echoed and a giant red N filled the screen was surreal. But curiosity pulled me there. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein isn’t necessarily my cup of tea stylistically, but his films always promise craftsmanship: stunning production design, rich texture, and a bold point of view.

What I didn’t expect was how deeply the film would make me reflect on theme, symbolism, and the responsibility we carry as filmmakers.

Why Frankenstein Works Beyond the Aesthetic

Del Toro keeps the story grounded in its original 1800s setting, honoring the Mary Shelley roots. But what stayed with me wasn’t the visuals or even the gruesomeness inherent to a story about stitching a human together—it was the thematic core.

At its heart, Frankenstein is a story about ego and unresolved trauma. Victor, played brilliantly by Oscar Isaac, creates a monster that is ultimately a manifestation of his own pain: an absent father, a mother lost too young, rejection, and a lifelong ache he refuses to face. The creature becomes the physical embodiment of his internal wounds, and through it, Victor is forced to confront the very things he has spent his life avoiding.

The film transforms a gothic tale into a symbolic exploration of what happens when we create from a place of brokenness—and how that affects the world around us.

Film Is an Art Form Built on Other Art Forms

Watching Frankenstein reminded me why filmmaking is such a unique medium. It fuses every other form of entertainment—music, performance, visual art, misdirection, tension, comedy—into one immersive experience. And depending on the choices we make, film can lean strongly in one direction or bring everything together into something deeper.

Del Toro leans into that deeper space here. The story isn’t simply about a monster—it’s about the monsters we create from our own unprocessed pain. And that’s where the film succeeds most.

The Filmmaker’s Temptation: Spoon-Feeding

As someone actively in the trenches of directing and producing, this movie hit at the perfect time. I’m currently working through a project in post, and recently caught myself recording unnecessary VO just to “make sure the audience got it.”

The pushback I received was simple but necessary: stop spoon-feeding the audience.

It’s so easy—especially in faith-based or faith-adjacent work—to rely on tropes like the preacher character who conveniently delivers all the theme. But great storytelling trusts the audience. It lets theme reveal itself through action, not exposition.

Movies like A Beautiful Mind remind me of this too. On the surface, it’s a true story about schizophrenia, but symbolically, it speaks to something we all experience: the internal voices that challenge, distract, or guide us. Great films operate at that layered level, whether they’re based in reality or pure fiction.

Why These Stories Matter

What I took away from Frankenstein isn’t a desire to make monster movies—far from it. It’s a reminder that film has the power to speak to the deeper places in people. It can illuminate their wounds, their questions, their relationships, and their view of the world.

Whether it’s a historical epic like Shogun, a symbolic story like Frankenstein, or a grounded true story like A Beautiful Mind, the real power of cinema lies in what we feel after the credits roll.

So I’m here, as a filmmaker still learning every day, asking myself the same question I hope other storytellers ask:

What am I trying to say—and how can I say it without saying it?

If you’ve seen Del Toro’s Frankenstein, older adaptations, or even read the original book, I’d love to hear what themes stood out to you. And if there’s a film you’ve watched recently that spoke to you on a deeper, symbolic level, drop it in the comments. I’m always looking for more stories that challenge the way I see the world.

Thanks for reading—and as always, more movie talk coming next week.