In the mid-19th century, genius scientist Victor Frankenstein, after countless experiments to breathe the spark of life into dead flesh, finally succeeds in creating his own being. Thus is born ‘The Creature’—a grotesque and dangerous entity capable of destroying anything, yet one that gradually develops humanlike qualities by observing its surroundings and its creator. Following an odyssey driven by chase and obsession that crosses the boundaries of life and death, the film poses a fundamental question about the relationship between the creator who evades his responsibility and the creature that never asked to be created. Frankenstein, which brings Mary Shelley’s gothic horror novel Frankenstein to the big screen, is a work that epitomizes the imaginative world that Guillermo del Toro, the undisputed maestro of monster movies, has long explored. The passionate performances of Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi, the meticulously crafted aesthetics and costumes, and the film-like texture of light and shadow all come together in perfect harmony under masterful direction. (Karen PARK)