Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein' Strikes the Right Chord with Fans — Is It Based on the Book?

It's not a new story: A scientist creates a monster. In some tales, he does it because he's power hungry. In other stories, including the original, Victor Frankenstein's motives are complex and heartbreaking.

In 2025, horror guru Guillermo del Toro released his interpretation of the Frankenstein movie.

It was met with enthusiasm by fans after its November Netflix release. But how closely is the movie based on the original book by science fiction pioneer Mary Shelley? Here's what we know about how closely 2025's Frankenstein sticks to the original story.

Starring Hollywood heavyweights like Mia Goth, Oscar Isaac, and Jacob Elordi, the 2025 Frankenstein movie is a new interpretation of the old classic.

There are some similarities, and it's no surprise. In the past, Variety reports, Guillermo has called the original novel "his Bible." But rather than matching the novel scene for scene, he created a reinvented version meant to capture the story's heart.

For instance, Screen Rant notes, there's a tragic love story between Mia Goth's Elizabeth and Jacob Elordi's Frankenstein's monster. But rather than loving Victor Frankenstein as in the novel, Guillermo's Elizabeth loathes him.

And of course, there are some other glaring differences. In the movie, there's no Justine. And Victor's father is a lot scarier.

Movie-adaptation Frankenstein's monster has fewer kills under his belt as well, and he's a much more sympathetic creature. And, overall, the ending of the movie comes with a more hopeful tone, especially after Victor and his creation are able to reconcile.

And, it would seem, these changes have resonated really well with audiences. After the film's low key Netflix release, its rise to popularity was slow, but steady.

Now, people are enamored.

On TikTok, creators celebrate the relationship between Elizabeth and the Creature. There are ample arguments about whether or not the love between the two is maternal or romantic, but much of that is left up to the viewer's interpretation.

In one comment section, a user mused, "Elizabeth loved him because he was pure of all evil intent that other men carried even the underlying superiority paints her an outcast. She loved him because he reflected a humanity that she could see in herself but in none other."

Another opined, "Two tortured souls, one forced to conform to society norms and the other forced to never fit in, loved the movie sm."

And one user summed up their take on the relationship between Elizabeth and the Creature, writing, "She was neither maternal nor romantic with him, they were something platonic, something else, but something beautiful."

The film's haunting themes and soulful portrayals has turned the story of Frankenstein and his Creature into something more relatable for the 2025 audiences it played to. And it definitely struck the right chord among people who longed to see the Creature given more heart.