Oscar Isaac Explains Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ Is “Very Mexican Catholic,” Mia Goth Doesn’t See It “As A Horror Film”
As Mary Shelley’s 1818 literary classic returned to the screen once again, the cast and crew of Guillermo Del Toro‘s Frankenstein celebrated the fruits of the writer and director’s lifelong ambition at Monday’s Los Angeles premiere.
During the red carpet at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Jacob Elordi told Deadline “it was a dream come true” getting to portray the Creature in Del Toro’s adaptation, as Mia Goth recalled playing the tragic character of Elizabeth Lavenza was “such an honor.”
“I’ve been such a fan of him my whole life, like everyone. But it was also a lot of pressure,” she said, noting that Del Toro began envisioning the film at age 10. “And I remember landing in Toronto and feeling very scared. I’ve never been more scared walking into a film.”
Although Oscar Isaac also felt the pressure in bringing Del Toro’s passion project to life, he praised the director’s “infectious energy” after starring as the eponymous Victor Frankenstein.
“Well, it’s passion. I think passion is everything in this film,” he said. “[Del Toro’s] a very passionate, joyous, funny, warm person, and mischievous as well. So, that was kind of an infectious energy throughout.”
Isaac added, “And it’s this very European story, but told through a very Latin American, Mexican, Catholic point-of-view. So, it was just high passion all the time.”
Despite previous adaptations within the genre, Goth noted she doesn’t “see Frankenstein as a horror film,” adding, “And Guillermo said as much… if anything, it’s a family drama.”
“It’s a story about fathers and sons, it’s about forgiveness, it’s about redemption, it’s about understanding,” explained Goth. “And I think people might be surprised at how incredibly moving it is and how much heart there is. It’s a story that’s been with Guillermo his whole life; he’s been thinking about this since he was 10 years old.”
Del Toro conceded that “nominally and generically, it is a horror movie,” but so much more than that. “After 30 years of making fantasy films, you know they can be something on top of that,” he said.
“And I think this is a family drama in many ways. It’s about the very Catholic notion of fathers and sons, and the pain that we transmit from one to the next generation. So, there’s that sort of level of emotion. After 200 years, for the book and the story to still provoke compassion and fear of crossing a boundary, those are things I think we innovated in a beautiful way,” said Del Toro.
