Netflix’s Frankenstein Isn’t a Horror Movie, Guillermo del Toro Explains Why

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Netflix’s Frankenstein Isn’t a Horror Movie, Guillermo del Toro Explains Why

Guillermo del Toro recently opened up about his Frankenstein movie, revealing that it will be more emotional than a traditional horror movie.

What did Guillermo del Toro say about Frankenstein?

Speaking to Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat during a conversation at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, del Toro said that he wouldn’t necessarily label Frankenstein as a horror movie. The reason, del Toro said, is that he never really goes into movies thinking he will make a pure horror movie and that the main goal is always to tell an “emotional story.”

“Somebody asked me the other day, does it have really scary scenes?” del Toro said (via Variety). “For the first time, I considered that. It’s an emotional story for me. It’s as personal as anything. I’m asking a question about being a father, being a son . . . I’m not doing a horror movie — ever. I’m not trying to do that.”

Frankenstein stars Oscar Isaac, Christian Convery, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley, Christian Convery, and Ralph Ineson.

“Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro adapts Mary Shelley’s classic tale of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation,” the synopsis reads.

Pinocchio, Del Toro’s most recent movie he co-directed with Mark Gustafson, was released through Netflix in December 2022. He also created Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, which premiered in October 2022.

An exact release date for Frankenstein has not yet been announced by Netflix, though it will be released at some point in 2025. On Bluesky, del Toro also confirmed that his Frankenstein movie will have a theatrical run