Frankenstein (2025)
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writer: Guillermo del Toro
Based on: Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley
Release dates: August 30, 2025 (Venice); October 17, 2025 (United States); November 7, 2025 (Netflix)
Stars: Oscar Isaac (Victor Frankenstein), Jacob Elordi (the Creature), Mia Goth (Elizabeth Lavenza), Felix Kammerer (William Frankenstein), Lars Mikkelsen (Captain Anderson), David Bradley (Blind Man), Charles Dance (Leopold Frankenstein), Christoph Waltz (Henrich Harlander), Lauren Collins (Hunter’s Wife), Sofia Galasso (Little Girl), Ralph Ineson (Professor Krempe), Burn Gorman (Executioner)
Plot: A brilliant but egotistical scientist brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
* * *
Guillermo del Toro had been pursuing his Frankenstein for nearly thirty years. The Mexican director often shared how Mary Shelley’s novel struck him like lightning in his childhood, becoming a lifelong obsession. After the successes of Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water—the latter crowned with an Oscar—the Venice Film Festival welcomed what del Toro himself called “the film of my life.” A long-delayed dream finally came to light in a setting that seemed made for it: the 2025 Venice Film Festival, where the filmmaker presented his version of one of the founding myths of modern literature in competition.
The film had its world premiere on August 30 at the PalaBiennale. Netflix, which supported the project with an estimated budget of around 120 million dollars, chose a release strategy that bridged the festival circuit and theatrical distribution. After Venice, the film also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival—another key stop for Oscar hopefuls—before opening in theaters on October 17 in the United States and debuting globally on Netflix on November 7. It was a rare move for the platform, reflecting its full confidence in the film.
The story begins from an unusual point: it takes place about forty years after the creature’s presumed death in the Arctic ice. This is where Dr. Pretorius enters the scene—a scientist and patron obsessed with Victor Frankenstein’s work. Pretorius embarks on a mission to find the creature and, in his own way, continue the legacy of the infamous scientist, pushing the narrative toward a meditation on memory, obsession, and the repetition of past sins.
The film thus takes shape as a kind of spiritual sequel to the novel, while remaining faithful to the thematic core of the original. It’s no coincidence that del Toro has explained his goal isn’t to reconstruct the well-known story, but rather to explore the intimate tragedy born from the bond between two doomed beings—one condemned by his own hubris, the other by his appearance.
A project of this scale could only call for a cast worthy of it. Oscar Isaac plays Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant scientist cursed by his own ego. Jacob Elordi takes on the role of the creature—a part originally meant for Andrew Garfield, who had to step away. Elordi’s casting proved decisive: the Australian actor underwent an intense preparation, describing weeks spent in isolation to inhabit the mind of a being scarred by exclusion and rage.
At his side is Mia Goth, a favorite of independent cinema, who portrays Elizabeth Lavenza—Victor’s partner, but also, in certain sequences, his mother. This intertwining of roles promises to deepen the film’s psychoanalytic undercurrents. Christoph Waltz brings his sharp intelligence and distinctive presence to Dr. Pretorius, a pivotal figure in the story, while the supporting cast features Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley, Charles Dance, and Ralph Ineson.
When Mary Shelley wrote her most famous novel, Frankenstein, she was only nineteen. She created it in the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution, followed by the Romantic movement—a response to the Age of Enlightenment. It was a bold act, that literary debut, in which she shared a story steeped in pain and revenge, yet also in compassion and renewal, offering humanity a chance to confront and redeem its own mistakes.
The immortality and lessons born in that era remain strikingly relevant—alive, almost cyclical—because they contain a narrative power capable of constant renewal, whether on the big screen or elsewhere, compelling us to face unthinkable questions reframed through a modern lens. Guillermo del Toro, who knows monsters better than most and has long mastered the art of portraying them with deep humanity, finally finds creative peace by realizing the dream of a lifetime—one he has pursued for thirty years—now made real in his latest film.
Two and a half hours of bold, evolving visual cinema, so fluid that the director himself reportedly reassured Netflix executives (the film will debut on the platform on November 7), saying, “Don’t worry—this is a film that changes genre every ten minutes.” And indeed, it truly unfolds with that kind of layered complexity.
Del Toro’s Frankenstein takes a few bold liberties along its path, yet it likely raises the bar once again for cinematic imagination. His creature, played by Jacob Elordi—who reportedly endured ten hours of makeup a day for months to fully inhabit the role—not only learns to speak (and read) thanks to an old blind man, but is reborn twice over: physically and emotionally.
In his pursuit of his creator, Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac)—who assembled him yet failed to give him what he truly needed: love, closeness, solidarity, and perhaps a companion equal to him—the creature struggles to endure, to grow, and to learn. He absorbs the violence of those who cannot see in him a beauty worth protecting. Only one woman, Elizabeth Valente (Mia Goth), the fiancée of Frankenstein’s brother William (in the original text, she marries Victor), approaches him with tenderness, whispering her name to him—the second word he learns—and ultimately sacrificing herself indirectly to spare him from a brutal death.
It is, in every sense, an act of love. This Frankenstein is, above all, a love story—and Elizabeth’s story in particular. She is the film’s most modern figure, one who looks beyond fear and prejudice, trusting her own instincts. Yet del Toro’s most striking innovation lies in his exploration of forgiveness: the creature’s newfound intelligence and self-awareness lead him to seek a place in the world, wandering alone—unable to die—determined to close a circle and forgive the man who caused his inner torment.
The story begins aboard a ship trapped in ice. An explosion in the night draws the sailors’ attention; they discover Victor Frankenstein, injured, and bring him to safety. From there unfolds the memory—the genesis—of how he came to that place. We see his version of events: his ambition, his audacity to tamper with life and death, his defiance of academia. We also meet his benefactor, the one who finances his experiments—a new addition to del Toro’s retelling. But no one, least of all Victor himself, anticipates the awakening of his monumental, scarred creation. After years of wandering, the creature, too, offers his own account—one of suffering, concealment, and profound incomprehension.
“For me, Frankenstein is second nature,” the director emphasizes. “I’ve always been the monster. I’ve been Victor, Elizabeth. Through this novel I understood what it means to be a son, a father. So with this film, my voice has finally found its full expression. It took me thirty years to make this dream come true, gathering along the way the best of what I’ve learned in terms of craft. The novel still speaks to us. Today, more than ever, we are dehumanizing ourselves, while this story brings us back to a place of great purity. It doesn’t need dialogue, or to be framed in a specific setting—it’s fundamentally about finding peace with oneself. We must learn to forgive, to accept the flaws of others, to open a dialogue about imperfection. Instead of listening to emotion, we’ve become addicted to information. In the past, we had twenty emotional states; now there are two hundred and sixty. It’s unrealistic for a human being to experience such a vast emotional range.”
“As a child,” recalls Elordi, “when I went to Blockbuster, I always looked for the Frankenstein VHS—it was my dream to be part of that world. The sense of loss and pain? Those have never been far from me. Here, I just wanted to be honest and sincere.”
“It was a psychedelic, emotional journey—like belonging to a cult,” says Oscar Isaac. “There were strange dynamics, mysterious forces, to the point where we all felt completely in sync, realizing Guillermo’s lifelong dream together. It was a joyful, exhilarating experience, despite the dark and somber material.”
“In my film,” del Toro adds, “the two find peace with each other, and there’s always the chance to build common ground. Sartre said, ‘Hell is other people.’ I say, ‘Salvation is other people.’ The monsters of today? They wear suits and ties.”
The director has described Mary Shelley’s novel as “one of the most powerful portraits of loneliness ever written,” and his film stays true to that spirit. Here, the creature is not a grotesque bogeyman, but a complex being—capable of emotion and thought, and condemned by a world unable to recognize his humanity. At the heart of the story, as always, lies the tortured bond between creator and creation, between fatherhood and abandonment, between the desire for omnipotence and the punishment of isolation.
“This film brings to an end a journey that began for me when I was seven years old, when I first saw James Whale’s Frankenstein films,” Guillermo del Toro said. “In that crucial moment, I felt a jolt of awareness: Gothic horror became my religion, and Boris Karloff my Messiah. Mary Shelley’s masterpiece is filled with questions that still burn in my soul—existential, tender, wild, inescapable questions, the kind only a young mind can ask, and that adults and institutions pretend to answer. But to me, only monsters hold the key to all mysteries. They are the mystery.
So Frankenstein is a blessed undertaking, driven by reverence and love—for both the mystery and the monsters. The origin of them all: the story of a prodigal father and a lost son—Job and Lazarus in conversation with a single creator, both searching for all the answers. As we all do.”
* * *
Frankenstein (2025) | Transcript
PRELUDE
[soft suspenseful music fading in]
[turbulent wind blowing]
FARTHERMOST NORTH, 1857
[metallic tools scraping]
[officer in Danish] Captain! Captain! Can we talk?
[watch ticking]
[captain, softly] Hmm.
[officer] We must break through the ice. The men are hungry and exhausted. We cannot keep up this pace without consequence.
[captain sighs]
[captain] Listen up, men! The more we delay the labor, the firmer the grasp of the ice will become. The work continues. Rotate each group.
[officer] Sir, with respect… The men need assurances.
[captain] Assurances?
[officer] Yes, that we will head back to St. Petersburg once we free the ship. They don’t think we’ll be seaworthy for long and they want to know…
[captain shouts] Listen up! It is neither your place, nor the officer here, to think anything… We signed up for a mission and we will see it to completion. We will reach the North Pole. Is it understood?
[men yell in agreement]
[men shouting indistinctly]
[captain sighs]
[captain sighs]
[distant explosion]
[captain gasps]
[unsettling music plays]
[officer] An explosion, Captain. About two miles away.
[captain] Get the men.
[dogs barking in distance]
[captain panting]
[dogs barking]
[officer] The sled dogs are unharmed.
[captain] Then where does all this blood come from?
[man] Over here, Captain!
[whistle blowing]
[man] A wounded man, he’s lost a lot of blood.
[Victor breathing laboriously]
[man] Wound to the shoulder, his leg is broken.
[captain] Bear attack?
[man] I don’t think so, Captain. Larsen, help me with his boot. … A prosthetic leg.
[guttural, beastly roar]
[tense music playing]
[men clamoring]
[captain] Put him on the board! Hurry! To the ship! Now!
[beastly roar]
[man shouts]
[captain] Larsen, that thing is coming. Ready the rifles! On my command.
[beastly roar]
[captain] Aim! Fire!
[guttural grunting]
[growling]
[foreboding music plays]
[growls]
[captain] Next group!
[repeats command]
[captain] Fire!
[grunting]
[groans]
[beastly growling]
[captain] All to the ship!!
[captain and officer repeating command]
[man 1 grunts, screams]
[rifles firing]
[growls]
[man 2 screams]
[gags]
[men clamoring]
[man 3 screaming]
[captain] Where is that man we brought onboard? Where?
[captain to Victor] What is that thing? What does it want?
[growls and pants]
[beastly roaring]
[guttural male voice in English]
[creature] Bring him to me!
[grunts]
[man 4 screaming]
[bones snap]
[yelps]
[men grunting]
[captain] The blunderbuss. Larsen, get the blunderbuss!
[panting]
[blunderbuss clicks]
[guttural grunting]
[creature] Victor. Victor!
[gunshot]
[blunderbuss clicks]
[grunts]
[blunderbuss clicks]
[groans]
[ice cracks]
I killed it.
I killed it.
[bones crackling]
[grunts]
[captain] It’s still alive! Ladder! Pull up the ladder!
[captain and officer shouting]
[whistle blowing]
[grunting]
[hull thudding]
[guttural panting]
[guttural male voice in English]
[creature] Bring him to me!
[yells]
[hull creaking]
[men groaning]
[straining]
[ice cracking]
[man screaming]
[shouting in Danish]
[captain] How many shots are left?
One, but it can’t kill it.
[captain] I know. I’m not aiming for him.
[straining]
[blunderbuss clicks]
[grunts]
[ice cracking]
[breathes heavily]
[gasps]
[grunting]
[gasps, roars]
[ship creaking]
[snow hisses]
[Dr. Udsen in English] Laudanum, to ease the pain. Drink it. Drink it.
[Victor] [gags] [weakly] Where am I?
[captain] You are on the Royal Danish ship, Horisont. I’m Captain Anderson. This is Dr. Udsen.
[Victor] How many of your men did it kill? [breathing shakily]
[Anderson] Six.
[Victor] It will come back and kill many more. All of you, if necessary, unless you deliver me to it.
[Anderson] No, no. It’s gone. It sank in the freezing waters. It’s dead.
[Victor] No, it is not! It cannot die. I have tried to destroy it. Whether you believe me or not, it will come back… for me. And when it does, you must promise that you will put me out on the ice and let it take me. Please.
[Anderson] What manner of creature is that? What manner of devil made him?
[Victor] I did. I did. I made him. I had determined that the memory of my evils should die with me.
[Dr. Udsen] It’s ready.
[Victor] Some of what I will tell you is fact. [groans] Some is not, but it is all true. My name is Victor. Victor Frankenstein. It was my father who gave me that name. Do you know what it means?
[Anderson] I believe I do, yes. Conqueror. One that wins it all.
[Victor] Yes. It all started with him. My father. [breathing heavily] And my mother.
[somber classical music playing]
PART I
VICTOR’S TALE
[woman] Victor! Victor! Victor!
[in French] Come down, your father is arriving.
[young Victor] Maman? Maman? I’m here, Mother. I’m here.
[Victor in English] My father was a baron and a preeminent surgeon. He had married my mother largely out of convenience, as her dowry was considerable and her lineage noble. It furnished my father with the means to preserve his rank and family estate. He was absent from our lives, but when he came home, the entire household bent to his will.
[father] Claire, dear.
[Victor] The rest of the time…
[father] Victor.
[young Victor] Father.
[Victor] The rest of the time, Mother was mine.
[cutlery clinking]
[father] No, bring that here. The salts in the meat will enrich your blood, as well as the baby’s. You eat for two, remember? Go on. It’s nutritious.
[young Victor] Guardian angel. Sweet companion. Stand by my side and do not leave me. Under your mantle, shelter me, and…
[muffled arguing]
[Victor] I would hear them through the wall, arguing incessantly, yelling at each other about wealth, estate… and me. Their voices filled me with fear.
[Claire sniffling]
[young Victor] Maman? Maman?
[Claire sobbing]
[heartbeat thumping]
[Claire whispers indistinctly]
[Victor] The man despised us both. Our raven black hair, our deep, dark eyes. Even our quiet, at times nervous disposition seemed to exasperate him to no end.
[father] List as accurately as you can the ancient classification of the humors in the human body.
[young Victor] Blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm.
[father] Average male heart. Weight?
[young Victor] Nine to eleven ounces, Father.
[father] Average female heart. Weight?
[young Victor] Eight to ten ounces.
[father] Why do you suppose that is? Difference in mass in female heart? Depth of emotion? Tendency to the melancholic?
[young Victor] Mass. Volume of blood, Father. Muscular irrigation.
[father] Quite. There is no spiritual content in tissue, and no emotion in a muscle. Now, describe the main function of the tricuspid valve, please.
[young Victor] I cannot recall, Father, but I’m sure I will remember.
[father] Yeah, I’m sure you will. Ivory does not bleed, Victor. Flesh does. By the time you remember a fact, your patient could be dead. You understand? The main function of the tricuspid valve is to prevent the reflux of blood into the vena cava. No, not your hands. Not anymore. They are now the instruments of your craft and will, and we must care for them. Your face, however, is vanity.
[stifling a cry]
[father] You bear my name, Victor, and with it my reputation. I pray you remember that.
[Claire chatting in French, laughing]
[young Victor in English] I feel you have something very good, parce que…
[in French] Three… Two… One…
[young Victor] [chuckling] That’s impossible.
[in English] I’ll shuffle.
[Claire] [gasps] [groans]
[young Victor] Mother?
[moans]
[young Victor] Maman?
[gasps in pain]
[young Victor] Father! Father. [in French] It’s Mother.
[Claire sobbing]
[young Victor] [inquires in French]
[father in English] I need hot water and clean linen. A lot of it. Now.
[man] Sir.
[Claire] No, Victor!
[young Victor] Mother?
[speaking French]
[young Victor] Maman!
[father] Victor!
[young Victor] [in English] Father! Father!
[Claire] Victor!
[young Victor] Save her, please!
[door slams]
[young Victor] [panting]
[solemn classical music playing]
[Claire screaming]
[young Victor] [sobs softly]
[solemn classical music continues]
[infant crying]
[infant continues crying]
[Victor] My mother, whom I had come to consider a part of my very self, she who I thought would never leave, she who was life… was now death. Her eyes extinguished, her smile feeding the cold earth.
[young Victor] [sniffling] Leave! All of you, leave! [sobbing softly]
[Victor] A part of the universe had been hollowed out and the firmament was now permanently dark.
[father] Now, cover your eyes. Don’t look until I tell you to. Now.
[Victor] William grew full of sunshine and smiles. He was of a calmer, gentler disposition, clearly favored by my father.
[father laughs]
[William] Thank you, Father.
[father] Oh, it’s a pleasure, my boy.
[Victor] He was the breeze, I was the storm cloud. He was all laughter, I was all frowns.
[father] Pick up the reins.
[young William] Look at me, Father. Look at me.
[father laughs]
[Victor] There was something more. Or rather, something was missing. My mother had died at the hands of the most distinguished doctor of his day: My father. An idea… took shape in my mind.
[father] Define the circulatory system, if you will…
[Victor] Inevitable, unavoidable…
[father] …as enunciated in De Motu Cordis.
[Victor] …until it became truth.
[young Victor] Father? You let her die, did you not?
[father] I did everything in my power to save her. You must know that.
[young Victor] So you failed.
[father] No one can conquer death. Mmhmm.
[young Victor] I will. I will conquer it. Everything you know, I will know. And more.
[father] I think we’ve done quite enough for today.
[Victor] I was born anew that night. I had a vision. I saw, for the first time… the Dark Angel.
[captivating choral music playing]
[young Victor] [gasps] [breathing shakily]
[Victor] And it made me a promise. I would have command over the forces of life and death. I would become every ounce the surgeon my father was. I would surpass him in ambition and in reach. The vision was so clear. Clearer than anything I’d ever seen in my waking hours or dreams. But how?
[choral music intensifies]
[wheezing]
[panting]
[wind whistling]
[Victor] My downfall was swift. Two revolts and a fire on my mother’s plantations dwindled the family fortune. We kept the estate, but lost everything else.
[bell clangs]
[mourners chant in Latin]
[bell clangs]
[Victor] William went to one side of the family in Vienna and I to London, then Edinburgh. And there, for decades, I tried to… expand the narrow limits of academia.
ROYAL COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL
1855
[Victor] Life. This… is life, gentlemen. We are born. Hmm? And no sooner do we rise, we fall. Death. And in the space between that rise and fall, our humble little purview.
[scattered laughter]
[Victor] Now, birth is not in our hands. Is it? Conception, that spark, the animation of thought and soul. That is in God’s hands. God.
[scattered laughter]
[Victor] But death. Ah, now there lies the challenge. That should be our concern. It should be. Who are we to do so? We are not gods, are we? But if we are to behave as immodestly as gods, we must, at the very least, deliver miracles. Wouldn’t you say? Ignite a divine spark…
[battery crackles]
[Victor] …in these young students’ minds. Teach them defiance rather than obedience. Show that man may pursue nature to her hiding places and stop death. Not slow it down, but stop it entirely!
[men applauding and murmuring]
Silence. Silence!
[chatter and applause stop]
How exactly do you propose to teach what is impossible?
[men exclaiming]
[Victor] Composite subject, the body. That of a shopkeeper, delivered mere moments after expiration. The brain laid bare but functional, the spinal branches and vagal nerves intact. You may observe the hair-thin scars. No coarse stitching needed by my own technique. The arm, you see, comes from another specimen, that of a carpenter. The muscles, ligaments, nerves, all connected now.
[batteries thrumming]
[gasping hoarsely]
[men exclaiming]
[Victor] Now, the spasmodic movement of the body caused from the electric current, this is not new. It’s not new. However, the flow of energy through the body follows a different notion entirely. An Eastern notion called qi.
[continues gasping]
[Victor] Now, it considers the vital flow of energy both within and without. I’m utilizing needles in six…
[gavel rapping] Quiet! Sit down! This is a hearing, Doctor, not a carnival act.
You’re not helping your cause, Victor. This galvanic trickery will simply not do.
[Victor] Trickery. Trickery? Are you sure?
[men exclaiming]
[Victor] That is not trickery. That is a decision.
[scattered applause]
[Victor] Motor coordination between the eye of one dead man and the arm of another, infused with a new will and the rudiments of understanding.
Understanding in a brain that already died? Release now.
[Victor] [knocks] Please. “Please” always helps.
[applause and laughter]
Turn that off at once. At once, you charlatan.
[Victor] This is the future. This is possible. Why not study it? Why not quantify it?
This is unholy. An abomination. An obscenity!
[men booing]
God gives life, and God takes it, Victor.
[Victor] Perhaps God is inept!
[men cheering]
[Victor] And it is we that must amend his mistakes! Do not let these old fools extinguish your voice! The answers only come when coaxed by disobedience, free of fear and cowardly dogma!
[gasping deeply]
[instrument clatters]
[wheezing]
[stops breathing]
[Victor] Professor Krempe.
[men cheering]
[uplifting classical music playing]
[noisy chatter]
[pigs squealing]
[Heinrich] Baron Frankenstein, my name is Heinrich Harlander, and I carry with me a letter of introduction from your brother, William.
[Victor] From my brother?
[Heinrich] I asked for the privilege of your acquaintance. It won’t take but a minute of your time. Please.
[Victor] Very well.
[flies buzzing]
[Victor] So William is coming to see me, is that it?
[Heinrich] Yeah, in a matter of days. He wants to introduce you to his fiancée. My niece, as it happens. Elizabeth Harlander, a very nice young lady, fresh from convent life. The photographs are mine. William has become quite successful in the world of finance.
[Victor] He’s making a name for himself. Ha! A name? For himself? Well, I’m afraid we both share that name, whether we like it or not.
[Heinrich] I read your article in The Lancet. You really believe you can do it? Assemble a man? A full new body? And give it life?
[Victor] You saw it today, didn’t you?
[Heinrich] What I saw was a crucifixion, really. You were done for before you uttered a word.
[Victor] I still showed them.
[Heinrich] What?
[Victor] The truth.
[Heinrich] They will forget by suppertime.
[Victor] Yes, yes, yes. But what did you think? Hmm?
[Heinrich] I thought it was brilliant.
[Victor] It was. I know.
[Heinrich] But you are like a child, so excited, clutching your new pet so tightly that you’re strangling it. That is why I worry about you. Can you contain your fire, Prometheus? Or are you going to burn your hands before delivering it?
[Victor] Quite. Please do not think me rude, but my day has proven long enough, and I believe myself totally unfit for the company of strangers. So if there’s nothing more…
[Heinrich] Oh, but there is. Much more.
[Victor sighs]
[Heinrich] I’ve taken quarters in Edinburgh. Three days from now, we are to meet with William and Elizabeth. And that evening, I will change your destiny. I will show you something extraordinary.
[church bell tolling]
[people chattering]
[fingers snapping]
[Heinrich] [snapping the fingers] The peach. The peach. Turn the peach. Turn it. You bit it again. You’re eating the peaches. This is a memento mori. The peach, symbol of life and youth, and you bite into it?
[model] I was hungry, Kiki.
[fingers snapping]Don’t call me Kiki.
[servant] Baron Victor Frankenstein, sir.
[Harlander to the model] You can leave.
[Harlander to Victor] Forgive me. Welcome.
[Victor] Herr Harlander.
[Harlander] A young art, photography.
[model] Goodbye, Kiki.
[Harlander] Already a passion of mine. Did you bring the papers? Oh, thank you.
[Harlander] [chuckles] You’re extraordinary.
[Victor] Thank you.
[Harlander] Hmm. You’re using the nervous system to deliver the surge of energy. Are you not?
[Victor] Correct.
[Harlander] And thus the sustainability of the life force you command is very brief, wanes, evaporates.
[Victor] How so?
[Harlander] At the lecture, you ended your demonstration out of pride. But really, because the galvanic life force was already fading, was it not?
[Victor] Are you yourself a surgeon, sir?
[Harlander] Yeah, once upon a time. An army surgeon. Not a particularly skilled one, either. But it allowed me to secure the rudiments of my fortune. I own a few ammunition factories.
[Victor] An arms merchant.
[Harlander] A realist. Are you familiar with the Evelyn Tables?
[Victor] Of course. Acquired by Sir John Evelyn, there are four planks, meticulous dissection, some of the oldest in Europe, presenting the nerves, veins and arteries of cadavers. What?
[Harlander] Yes. But there’s a fifth one. The most compelling one.
[Harlander] Exquisite, is it not? Flesh rendered onto wood. [knocks on wood] The cadaver lies on the plank, is peeled away layer by layer, and the remaining tissue is lacquered with resin onto the wood. It showcases the lymphatic system.
[Victor] Yes.
[Harlander] Muslim medics called it the secret circulatory system. It moves a mere three liters of fluid, but it’s a vast network.
[Victor] Oh, it’s remarkable.
[Harlander] Yes. Now for us, for you, the important variation is here. The ninth configuration. A very delicate, almost ethereal structure surrounding the heart. It can distribute, but also store energy. Yes, if you can access that without destroying the surrounding tissue…
[Victor] No. Not through the front. The back, spinal column, thoracic curvature.
[Harlander] Of course.
[Victor] Flow of energy, scarring and regeneration beyond anyone’s imagination.
[Harlander] Life eternal. I will endow your pursuit with unlimited resources.
[Victor] And in exchange?
[Harlander] No need to become indelicate. We’re searchers for truth and transcendence, kindred spirits. I may in time ask you for a favor in return, but it’s mostly the privilege to record your process for posterity.
[Victor] I work alone.
[Harlander] I’m very quiet.
[servant] William Frankenstein and your niece, Herr Harlander.
[Victor] I shall consider it. I’ll consider it.
[Harlander] Baron. Don’t pretend to be reasonable now. It would be such a shame.
[Victor huffs softly]
[William] [chuckles] Victor.
[Victor] William!
[William] Victor.
Look at you. [chuckles] My, you’ve grown.
[William] Through no merit of my own. May I introduce the woman I’m to marry. Lady Elizabeth Harlander.
[ethereal classical music playing]
[Victor] [huffs softly] Absolutely delighted.
[William] Can’t say I was shocked when you were expelled, but the manner and virulence of your expulsion, uncalled for, I’m sure.
[Victor] No, it was called for. I earned it. I made it a point to earn it, wouldn’t you say, Herr Harlander?
[Harlander] It was quite an exit, I assure you.
[William] Why provoke them? Why not just carry on without calling attention to yourself in such a manner?
[Victor] How safe, even by your standards, William. You almost sound like Father. He was a most tactful man, our father. He was precise, discreet, measured. I, on the other hand, fail to see why modesty is considered a virtue at all.
[William] Victor’s always been one to harvest attention. Even as children, I mitigated his voice by staying silent. Perhaps too much and far too many times, wouldn’t you say, Victor?
[Victor] If life can be regenerated, not as a mere simulation, but as a divine act by physical, chemical means, why whisper it?
[Elizabeth chuckles]
[Victor] You laugh? You’re amused?
[Elizabeth] I must be, yes.
[Victor] Are my ideas not clear?
[Elizabeth] You certainly expressed them loudly enough.
[Victor] Are they not worthwhile?
[Elizabeth] Ideas are not worthwhile by themselves, I don’t believe.
[Victor] Enlighten me, please.
[Elizabeth] Take the war, for example.
[Harlander] William, cigar and brandy in my study? Surely you’ve heard my niece expound on the matter before. You’ll excuse us.
[Victor] Pray, carry on. Ideas.
[Elizabeth] Well… honor, country, valor. These surely are worthwhile, elevated ideas by themselves, wouldn’t you agree?
[Victor] Mmhmm.
[Elizabeth] And nevertheless, men are dying for them. In a decidedly unelevated way, face down in the mud, choking on blood, screaming in pain. Men that were fathers, brothers or sons to someone out there. Men that were fed, cleaned and nursed and schooled into this world by their mothers, only to fall on a battlefield far away, far from those that provoke these tragedies. Those men remain at home, untouched by blood or bayonet, their skin unpierced, their blankets warm and clean. That is what happens when ideas are pursued by fools.
[Victor] And you think me a fool? Hmm?
[Elizabeth] Run to your brandy and cigars. The boys are waiting.
[Victor chuckles dryly]
[Victor] How often a man believes he’s met an angel or a devil, only to find it is all an illusion. The game of chess we play… [coughs] We play only against ourselves. [coughing]
[Anderson in Danish] Help him. Help him!
[Dr. Udsen in English] Here you go. Drink some.
[commotion outside]
[Larsen shouting in Danish]
[running footsteps]
[door slams open]
[Larsen] You better come with me.
[Anderson sighs in relief]
[Anderson] Nothing.
[Larsen] Sir, the watchman saw him. Circling the ship. In the mist.
[Anderson] We all saw him drown.
[Larsen] Sir. The men are terrified. They think that man should be surrendered to the ice and be done with this.
[Anderson] He is under my protection… and the protection of the Crown!
[Larsen shouts]
[whistle blows]
[man shouting in distance]
[Victor in English] A few weeks later, I rode with William and Harlander to a lake near Vaduz across the channel.
[William] The tower was built as a water filtration plant to irrigate the fields. Public works, so construction was abandoned at the start of the war.
[Harlander] Not this war, the one before. Or the one before that, I cannot quite remember.
[horse neighs]
[Victor] The moment I laid eyes on it… The tower. I could feel destiny calling.
[enthralling classical music playing]
[William] The structure’s basically intact. And there’s a chute going from top, right to the bottom. I can arrange for your belongings. We’ll bring them from Edinburgh.
[door creaking]
[Harlander] Anything you need or want shall be granted.
[Victor] Anything?
[Harlander] Anything.
[wings fluttering]
[music intensifies]
[Harlander] I have secured William’s service for the duration of the project.
[Victor] I’ll need a holding cell. And an ice chamber close to the lab.
[Harlander] William.
[William] There are two pump reservoirs at the base of the tower. We’ll repurpose those.
[Victor] We shall need to recondition the steam engines. We’ll need enough fuel to make sure they run. There and there, four high-capacity voltaic batteries, positive and negative polarity, and a lightning rod system of pure silver telescoping down into the lab.
[Harlander] Yes. My contractors can manufacture any and all equipment you may require. I take it then that we have an understanding?
[lighthearted classical music playing]
[Harlander] A bargain has been struck.
[crowd cheering]
[celebratory music playing]
[man] Bastard!
[Victor] No. No. Not this one. Aah. Open your mouth. [groans] You, you’re lucky to be hanged. You would have died within the year. Herr Harlander promised me access to optimal specimens.
Yeah, that he may have, your lordship, but as you well know, crime doesn’t pay, and it’s a poor showing of it we have here. They’re wretches every one of them.
[groans]
I’m sorry about that.
[Victor] That’s a strong back. This one will do.
[crowd cheering]
[celebratory music continues]
[music fades]
[soft ethereal music playing]
Come back later.
[Victor] Confession? I was intrigued. What would such a delicate, pious creature have to confess to? As luck would have it, an opportunity presented itself, and I… I was about to find out.
[Elizabeth] Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.
[Victor imitating old priest] How long has it been since your last confession, my daughter?
[Elizabeth] Barely a week, Father. I was in a convent.
[Victor imitating old priest] A week? Tsk-tsk. Have you so hastily committed sin?
[Elizabeth] I have. Sin of intent, not deed.
[Victor imitating old priest] A man, is it?
[Elizabeth] Yes. My fiancé’s brother.
[Victor imitating old priest] Lust?
[Elizabeth] Hatred.
[Victor in normal voice] Hatred… [clears throat] [imitates old priest] Hatred?
[Elizabeth] The man is appalling, grotesque.
[Victor imitating old priest] [scoffs] Harsh words. Rather uncharitable, wouldn’t you say?
[Elizabeth] Respectfully, Father, you do not know this man. He tries to control and manipulate everything and everyone around him. Like every tyrant, he delights in playing the victim. His only advantage, I would say, is he’s far cruder than he believes himself to be.
[Victor imitating old priest] Cruder? Uh, pray explain yourself, my child.
[Elizabeth] For one, he’s easy to spot. You can see him… even on a busy street on market day.
[whimsical classical music playing]
[Victor] Tell me, how soon did you spot me?
[Elizabeth] I saw you well before you saw me, I can say that much.
[Victor] Have you had supper?
[Elizabeth] I’m not that hungry, Baron. Thank you.
[Victor] Well, I for one am famished.
[Victor to the waiter] Thank you, my good man.
[waiter] Thank you, sir.
[Victor] What books did you buy, hmm? May I?
[Elizabeth] Guess.
[Victor] Guess?
[Elizabeth] Mmhmm. I’d rather that you did.
[Victor] Very well. A romance… [sniffs] Drenched in Mediterranean sun and silk and the skirmishes of love.
[Elizabeth] Insulting, but unsurprising.
[Victor] [chuckles] Really? … Insects?
[Elizabeth] Mm. My interest in science leans towards the smallest things. Moving with nature, perhaps the rhythms of God. I’ve always searched for something more pure, marvelous.
[Victor] Is that what you were seeking in the convent?
[Elizabeth] In a way.
[Victor] Was it worth it?
[Elizabeth] Is anything?
[music ends]
[applause]
[classical waltz music playing]
[Victor] Permit me, sister.
[Elizabeth] [softly] This hardly seems appropriate.
[Victor] Is anything? … Very well.
[footsteps thumping rhythmically]
[Victor] [laughs] Laughter!
[Elizabeth laughing]
[Victor] And for the very first time, I became more interested in life and somewhat less interested in death.
[classical waltz music continues]
[silversmith] The main rod has a fast bolting system.
[Victor] Did you use an alloy?
Copper and zinc.
[Victor] This is… This simply will not do. Start over.
[Victor] Pure silver is a perfect conductor. William, you must stay behind. Please. I trust you above anyone else. Only for a few more days.
[Victor] You’re not going to catch her. [chuckles]
[Elizabeth laughs] Beautiful. Beautiful.
[Victor] Should we trap her or let her go?
Mm… Trap her.
[both chuckle]
[Victor] Now we have something in common. A prisoner.
[Victor] As promised, William took dutiful charge of the laboratory build and needs.
[William] Can you fix that over there, please?
Go, help.
[Victor] He followed my instructions to the letter.
The battery.
[William] It’s all pure silver now.
[metal clangs]
[William] Conduction points corresponding to the lymphatic system, which was quite complex. But I managed.
[Victor] [chuckles] Mmhmm.
[classical waltz music continues]
[battery humming]
[battery buzzes]
[music ends]
[applause]
[sighs]
[elegant classical music playing]
[knock on door]
[Victor] Herr Harlander, thank you. The party’s delightful.
[Harlander] I hope we’re not distracting you from your research to tend to me and Elizabeth.
[Victor] Not at all.
[Harlander] She’s young. She can count on us to guard her.
[Victor] I shall leave you your privacy.
[Harlander] No need for subterfuge between us.
[Harlander] [urinating]
[faint chiming]
[Harlander] French porcelain, chimes to a man’s stream.
[Victor] I am very near a solution, an access point to the lymphatic system.
[Harlander] Ah, yeah, that. It’s been so long.
[continues urinating]
[Harlander] The war is waning.
[finishes urinating]
[Harlander] And my funding will end with it.
[Victor] You said your funds were unlimited.
[Harlander] My patience is not. I have it on good authority that a battle is to take place within a week. The tide of war will deliver its bounty to our shore.
[Victor] A battlefield? The bodies will be mangled.
[Harlander] One week.
[Victor] One week?
[Harlander] After that, history will pass us by. Flush that for me, will you, Baron?
[Victor] A week to determine how to deliver the current. Impossible.
[knock on door]
What would I do? I was close. I could feel it.
[knocking continues]
[Victor] And then… life got in the way.
[Victor] Oh.
[Elizabeth] I believe she missed you.
[Victor] I must warn you, Elizabeth, I’ve been working on a dissection.
[Elizabeth] It’s beautiful.
[Victor] Does it shock you?
[Elizabeth] Reminds me of martyrdom paintings. Pain is gone.
[soft classical music playing]
[Elizabeth] You can see God’s design in the symmetry and the shapes.
[Victor] Elizabeth. I must confess something to you. I have a belief in the marvelous and so do you. There is a bond between us. Can you feel it? An almost physical one. I truly believe it to be something else. [Victor huffs softly]
[Elizabeth] Believing something does not make it true.
[Victor] Then why are you here?
[Elizabeth sighs]
[Elizabeth sighs]
[Elizabeth] Beautiful creature, is she not? Remote. Entirely bewitching, but so odd.
[tender classical music playing]
[Elizabeth] Three hearts. Multiple eyes. White blood. And a fascinating lack of choice.
[Victor] I don’t understand.
[Elizabeth] Choice is the seat of the soul. The one gift God granted us.
[Victor] Elizabeth…
[Elizabeth] [sniffles] I have chosen. Good night.
[somber classical music plays]
[Victor] Elizabeth! Elizabeth!
I thought I had failed. I thought it was entirely over. I thought… And I thought… And I… The symmetry.
[breathing heavily] God’s symmetry. Yes, yes.
[liquid bubbling]
[machine whirring]
[electricity thrumming]
[batteries thrumming]
[bones crackle]
[Victor whispers] Yes.
[subject screams]
[Victor gasping]
[objects clattering]
[machine powers off]
[gagging]
[panting]
[Victor] Placing the battery above the lymphatic system. I had found the key.
[birds cawing]
[Victor] Nothing could stop me now. Nothing.
[Victor] No! No, do not take any bodies from the top or the bottom of the pile unless I mark them. Ice or rot may have destroyed the tissue.
[shooing]
[bird caws]
[Victor] Look only in the middle.
[Victor] [grunts, sighs]
[Harlander] Abundance can be disorienting unless one hones one’s aim.
[Victor] I’m favoring tall specimens, long limbs. Scale will make the work easier.
[Harlander] I like that.
[men grunting]
[Harlander] Perfection. And why not, dear Baron? Indeed, why not?
[Victor] Look for a head that’s intact. Put that one in the cart.
[groans softly]
[Victor] Set that one over there. Bring the others. Oh, good God.
[cheerful classical music playing]
[bones cracking]
[Harlander] Do you mind?
[cheerful classical music continues]
[squelching]
[cheerful classical music continues]
[flies buzzing]
[Victor grunts]
[water splashing]
[exhales heavily]
[bolts tightening]
[Victor] It is finished. [exhales]
[music ends]
[thunder rumbles]
[Victor panting]
[thunderclap]
[thunderclap]
[lever creaks]
[machine powers up]
[water splashes]
[Victor grunting]
[thunder continues rumbling]
[lever creaking]
[Victor grunting]
[Victor] Herr Harlander! A storm is coming!
[Harlander] My cane. My cane! My cane, in the handle.
[Victor] Mercury. Are you ill?
[Harlander] Thank you.
[Victor] Is it… syphilis?
[Harlander] Yeah, I’m dying. One night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury. Isn’t that the phrase?
[Victor] What stage? Secondary?
[Harlander] We both know the precise schedule. It starts to eat away my bones, orbital, cheek, teeth, jaw, skull, exposing my brain. Tumors, madness, excruciating pain. [chuckles] One fine morning, I will start to scream and I will never stop. I cannot face such a vulgar demise.
[thunderclap]
[Harlander] Which brings me to my one condition. Our deal. As agreed, in exchange for my generous intervention on your behalf. And as we give life to our new Adam, I want to be placed in this new perfect body.
[Victor] No. No, no.
[Harlander] Yes.
[Victor] Not now. Not now!
[Harlander] Precisely now.
[Victor] We’ll talk about this after, not now.
[Harlander] There is no after! There is no after.
[thunderclaps continue]
[intense music playing]
[Victor grunting]
[Harlander] I gave you everything you wanted! I give you everything you ask for. Name it, it’s yours. Even Elizabeth. Please. “Please” always helps.
[Victor] The disease has spread all inside of you. It’s systemic, and you know it. Every organ in you is polluted. Your brain, your blood, it’s all polluted.
[Harlander] But my money’s not, is that it?
[Victor] It’s impossible.
[Harlander] Now, all you need to say is one simple word. “Yes,” no more and no less.
[Victor] No! Do you understand? No!
[thunderclaps continue]
[Victor] What are you doing? Stop! Stop. If we lose that, we have nothing. We both lose.
[Harlander] I will be the eagle that feasts on your liver!
[Victor] Please, stop! Herr Harlander. Herr Harlander!
[both grunting]
[Victor] [gasps] Hold on, look at me! No! Herr Harlander!
[Harlander screams]
[Victor gasping]
[machinery clicking]
[dramatic music playing]
[electricity buzzing and crackling]
No, no. No!
[steam hissing]
[machinery groans]
[grunting]
[valves squeaking]
[metal groans]
[thuds]
[clicking]
[clangs]
[clangs]
[thunderclaps continue]
[crackling]
[panicked grunting]
[electrical explosion]
[charging up rapidly]
[rapid heartbeat]
[squelching]
[electricity crackles]
[thunderclaps continue]
[dramatic choral music playing]
[gasping]
[machinery powering down]
[lever creaking]
[grunting]
[battery crackling]
[battery fizzes] No, no, no!
No!
[panting]
[loudly] No! No! No!
[whimpers]
[panting]
You lied to me.
You lied.
[creaking]
[Claire] Victor! Victor!
[gasps, breathing heavily]
[metallic clattering]
[gasps]
[Victor gasping]
[soft grunting] [Victor gasps sharply] No, please.
[Victor gasping in awe]
[Victor shudders]
[mumbling softly]
[Victor gasping]
Look. Same.
[soft grunt]
[Victor breathes shakily]
[whimpering]
[Victor shushing] Sun.
Sun. Light.
Face it.
Sunlight. The sun is…
The sun is life.
[exhales loudly]
[imitates Victor’s exhale] Ah, the warmth. Huh?
[moans softly] Yes! Yes.
[breathing deeply]
[Victor gasping]
[tender classical music playing]
[enunciates] Victor.
Victor.
Victor.
[laughs] Yes.
Yes, yes, yes. Of course you are.
[moaning softly] Of course you are.
[heartbeat thumping]
Victor.
[Victor chuckles softly]
[servant] The mail, sir.
[William] Letters from the old estate.
Geneva.
Is there anything from my uncle?
No.
[exhales deeply]
[Elizabeth] Perhaps we should pay them a visit.
[Victor] Careful. Look. Look down.
[water splashes]
Water. Water.
[laughing] Water.
Yes, water.
Victor.
No, I’m Victor.
That’s water. Come here.
Victor.
Come now, come. All right, good.
We’re going to take a big step.
We’ll do it together. Ready?
This way, like this.
[laughing] No, not like that. This way.
Oh, no, no, no. Hot, hot.
No, don’t touch. Don’t touch that.
It’s hot.
Sit. Very good. Very good. Yes.
[Victor laughing]
[grunting]
Yes. Now, look what I have here.
Look at this. What is this thing?
What is this strange thing? Careful.
[laughs] You’re very strong.
Yes. And like this. Huh?
[cuff clicks] Yes, you want another?
Yes, this one goes right here.
Key.
[slowly] Victor.
This will keep you nice and warm.
Nice blanket to keep you warm.
[slowly] Victor.
All right.
You stay.
You stay here now.
[moans softly] Stay here now.
I’ll be back. All right. Stay there.
Victor.
[chains rattling] No, no, no, no, no. It’s all right.
I’ll come back.
Victor.
[sentimental classical music playing] Victor.
[Victor] Everything was new to him. Warmth, cold, light, darkness. And I was there to mold him. I never considered what would come after creation. And having reached the edge of the earth, there was no horizon left. The achievement felt unnatural. Void of meaning. And this troubled me so.
Your men, they wish to go back.
Yes?
Probably.
But the moment we’re free, we’re setting sails forwards.
No matter the cost.
You share my madness.
[chuckles hollowly]
Perhaps there is a finer point in me telling you my story.
Whether there is or isn’t, Baron…
I’d like to hear it.
[Victor] Weeks passed, and as his strength increased rapidly, mine waned. Alas, no further language or development occurred.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Down, down, down, down.
Yes, there we are.
There we are. Stay there. Stay.
[Victor sighs]
Yes, that’s you.
That’s you. All right?
Oh, yes, this is healing rather nicely.
I’m tired.
I have not slept.
Not a winky-dinky-doo of sleep for me.
Tending to you.
I’ve finished shaving you.
[moaning softly]
No, no, stop, stop.
Let go. No, no, no, no, no, no. Open.
[blood trickling]
Open your hand. Open. Open it.
[sighs]
What are you doing?
Look. Look what you’ve done.
You have to listen to me.
You have to listen. I said drop it.
Stupidity! No. Stop.
Come here.
Victor.
No, don’t touch me!
Don’t ever touch me!
Come here.
I didn’t do this. You did this.
[inhales sharply]
The wound.
It’s closed.
But how?
[subject grunts]
[growling softly] All right.
[continues growling] No, no, no.
No.
No.
All right. All right.
[stops growling]
[horse whinnies]
I’m sure everything’s all right.
We’ll be there soon enough.
[cuff clangs]
I know you have thoughts. I know.
I know you do.
Somewhere in there.
Somewhere in there you have thoughts.
Hmm? Don’t you?
Something you might want to say?
However jumbled, however confused?
Hmm? Something?
Am I presuming too much?
Victor.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
This much we have established.
That is my name. My name is Victor.
Is there anything else that you can say?
Anything at all? Hmm?
Anything? Anything?
Um, sun, hmm?
Cold. Rain. Blood. Anything.
Boot. Can you say “boot”?
Victor.
[Victor laughs in frustration]
No, yes, no, yes! How about…
How about “hand”? Can you say “hand”?
Hand. Hand.
[growls]
Oh. Oh, oh. You are afraid of me?
You’re afraid of me?
Why? Why would you be afraid of me?
I’m not going to hurt you.
I’m not going to hurt you. I made you.
I’m your maker! Stop it!
[whimpering]
[muffled banging on door]
[breathing heavily]
Oh.
You’re here. You’re really here.
Come on, then. Come, come.
I have to tell you.
I have so much to show you, Elizabeth.
You won’t believe it.
It’s absolutely marvelous.
Come, come, I’ll show you my notes first.
Is my uncle here?
What?
My uncle, is he here?
No, no.
No, I’m alone. He’s not here.
He’s… He’ll be back in a few days.
You don’t look very well, Victor.
Oh, I’ve never felt better!
I’ve never had a clearer mind! Come, come!
Are you running a fever?
I am just very excited to see you.
[chuckles] I’m exalted.
The spirits have lifted me so much.
Absolutely marvelous…
[in distance] Victor…
[William] Victor. Victor.
[continues indistinctly]
[gentle ethereal music playing]
[chain rattling]
[gentle ethereal music continues]
[Elizabeth breathing shakily]
[grunting softly]
[chuckles softly]
[Elizabeth gasping softly]
Who hurt you?
I have to show you this, William.
Let me organize it for you.
And I have something to show to you.
I’ve spoken to the Royal Medical Society.
They’re interested in seeing you.
No, no, no, not yet.
I’m not quite ready yet.
[William] I thought that’s what you always wanted.
[Elizabeth panting]
The man.
The man downstairs.
You saw him?
Is he a patient? A victim?
His wounds. You wounded him like that.
No, no, no. It was the world that hurt him, Elizabeth.
I… I gave him life.
I gave him life.
Up, up, up.
Come on.
There, there, there…
He’s still getting used to his surroundings.
[low growl]
[Victor shushes] It is strong, William.
You did it.
[Victor] It’s so strong.
You did it.
All its systems are functional.
All healing.
[neck cracks] And the healing is erratic, yes.
But exceptional.
[groans softly]
[chain clangs]
Why is he chained here?
For his own safety and for mine, and it’s easy to clean and, uh, maintain it.
And it doesn’t know any better.
But you do.
Does Harlander know?
We have to prepare everything for the moment he returns.
[Victor] Of course.
And have everything presentable.
Is it intelligent?
Victor, is it intelligent?
[thunder rumbling]
[William] I can’t fathom how exactly you did what you did, but its dimension does not escape me.
Victor, did you ever ask yourself, of all the parts that make that man, which one holds the soul?
No, I didn’t.
[William] There’s something so disquieting about that creature down there.
Askew, like a figure peeking around a fun house mirror.
But animated.
Animated by what?
[gentle classical music playing]
[chain rattling]
[grunts softly]
[gentle classical music continues]
[chain clanks]
[thunder rumbles]
[groans softly]
Does it hurt?
A leaf?
For me?
Thank you.
Isn’t it beautiful?
This is for me?
I’m Elizabeth.
Can you say “Elizabeth”?
Elizabeth.
My throat makes sounds.
Elizabeth.
I’m going to go now.
Eliza… Beth.
[Victor] You should not go near it.
“It”?
It. Yes.
I believe there is life in it, but not the spark of intelligence that I had intended.
Perhaps not as you understand it.
Something went wrong.
A blockage, a suture, a connection.
You, the great Victor Frankenstein, you made a mistake?
The Creature knows but one word, and one word alone.
“Victor, Victor, Victor, Victor.”
It just parrots it without rhyme or reason.
Perhaps for the time being that word means everything to him.
What if in being anew, the spirit that animates him is simpler, purer…
[scoffs] Purer?
Purer than that of the common man?
[laughing] What if, unrestrained by sin, our creator’s breath came into its wounded flesh directly?
Good God, Elizabeth.
If I could force myself to believe it, it would be my inclination to see attraction in you for that thing.
Understanding.
In those eyes I saw pain, and what is pain if not evidence of intelligence?
What about my pain?
What about what you have denied me?
What my heart wants…
Your heart? [chuckling quietly] Of all the human anatomy, that is the organ furthest from your understanding.
Only monsters play God, Baron.
[metal clatters]
[Victor] Purer than the common man, hmm?
[Victor chuckles]
And I, somehow, the villain. Mmhmm.
Your heart is pure?
I assure you it isn’t.
I should know. I put it there.
Up.
Let us try again.
Now give me your leg.
Leg!
[gasps] Give me your leg!
Pain is evidence of intelligence, is it not?
Well, let’s test the theory.
[grunts] Give me your leg!
Leg!
Leg!
Come on!
[gasps] Give it to me, you beast!
[whimpering softly] Give me your leg!
[growls softly]
Leg!
[roars]
[rod clatters] Victor!
Victor!
Victor! Victor!
What is it, Victor?
Come. Come.
[breathing heavily] I failed. I made a mistake.
No, you didn’t fail. I saw your papers.
I did.
It’s perfect.
The Creature is extremely dangerous.
There’s not… Victor.
Let’s wait for Harlander and discuss together.
William, there is something you should know.
Something I have to show you.
[door opens]
[William] Ha… Harlander…
In a fit of rage, he killed him.
[William breathing shakily]
Do you understand now why I was hesitant to share this with you?
And certainly not with Elizabeth.
S… So what’s to be done now?
What?
What’s to be done?
“What’s to be done”?
You must take Elizabeth back to Vienna.
Tell her something urgent came up and you have to leave immediately.
Keep her in the dark.
For her own safety.
You have to do as I say.
We’ll be back in no time.
But for now, this is for the best.
Now get in the carriage, please.
The Creature, what’s its lifespan, you think?
Brief. Very brief, I’m sure.
[suspenseful music playing]
I have the most terrible feeling.
What is it?
Turn the carriage around.
You go to Vienna.
Turn the carriage around or I will jump.
He’s going to kill him.
[can clatters]
Say one word.
One word more. Anything.
Make me save you.
Victor.
Mmhmm.
[suspenseful music continues]
Elizabeth.
[sinister music plays]
[grunts]
[flame roaring]
[sinister music intensifies]
[panting]
[steam whistling]
[chains clanking]
[bellowing] Victor! Victor!
[gasps]
Victor!
[chain rattling] Victor!
[sinister music intensifying]
[grunts]
[groaning]
[screaming]
[explosions]
[horse neighs in distance]
[explosions continue]
[Victor] But that was not the end of it.
In seeking life, I created death.
[knocking]
[urgent shouting from outside]
It would seem I need to address my men again.
[grunting]
Don’t worry.
They’ll listen to me.
[wind whistling]
[Anderson grunts]
[roars]
[Victor] No, no, stop!
Do not harm him! I’m here.
Take me.
[growls]
[Anderson] Go on, beast.
Kill us both. Confirm your maker’s tale.
[dark music playing]
[coughs weakly]
My maker… told his tale.
[growls softly]
Then I will tell you mine.
[dramatic sinister music playing]
[shouting] Victor!
Victor! Victor! Victor!
[chain rattling]
[creature] I called your name and understood I was alone.
[explosions]
[glass breaking]
[rod creaking]
[rod creaking]
[straining]
[explosion]
[sinister music intensifies]
[cuffs shatter]
[steam blasting]
[flame roaring]
[explosions continue]
[melancholy music playing]
[explosions continue in distance]
[gags]
[retches]
[explosions continue in distance]
[wheezing]
[grunting]
[wheezes]
[birds cawing]
[birds cawing]
[grunts softly]
[deer snorts]
[deer grunts]
[deer snorting]
[sucking]
[chuckles]
[deer snorts]
[chuckles]
[gunshot]
[deer groans]
[birds cawing]
What is that?
Shoot at it!
[hunter 1] Shoot it!
[groans]
[tense music plays]
[snarling]
[hunter 2] Did you get it?
[birds cawing]
[hunter 2] Where is it?
[gunshot]
[grunts]
[thunder rumbling]
[gasps softly]
[creature] My wounds had healed. But I felt cold, so cold.
[melancholy music playing]
[rats squeaking]
[rats squeaking]
[shudders]
[whimpers softly]
[squeaking]
[door opens]
[man] Can you start the fire?
[woman] All right.
[man] And I’ll repair the corral as soon as I can.
[suspenseful music playing]
You all right, then? Did you get it?
[hunter 1] Nah, we looked everywhere.
Couldn’t find that thing.
Though we shot at it two times.
[hunter 2] Blood trail died about a mile from here.
[man] All right. Come in. Come in.
[hunter 1] We followed it for a while and then it disappeared. Gone.
[woman] What was it? Was it a bear?
[hunter 1] That was no bear or human.
I’ve never seen anything like it.
[woman] Was it a ghost, then?
It was no ghost. We drew blood.
It was flesh and bone.
[man] Come, come. Over here.
Tell me more about what you saw.
Anna-Maria, take your grandfather over by the fireplace.
Make sure he’s comfortable.
[Anna-Maria] Over here, Grandfather.
[hunter 2] We went deep into the forest.
Couldn’t find it.
[indistinct chatter]
[blind man chuckles]
[man] We will get it.
It’ll take time.
[hunter 2] Yeah.
[woman] Anna-Maria, come.
Come, love. Help me outside.
[soft music playing]
[creature] The old man moved me.
And his unseeing eyes were full of wisdom.
These people possessed a sound.
[blind man laughs]
Used it to tell each other about feelings and ideas. They called them words.
Pay attention.
What is this?
[Anna-Maria] A boy.
And again.
[Anna-Maria] A boy.
Very good, my child.
And this?
An… An eye.
[blind man] And again.
[Anna-Maria] An eye.
Yeah. Well done. Well done, my girl.
[creature, softly] Eye.
[blind man] And this one?
[Anna-Maria] The hand.
[blind man] Very good.
Hand.
Give us a hand.
Tie a rope around the biggest one back there.
[creature] I longed to be part of this family.
[man] We’ll need more kindling before the winter.
[hunter 2] We’ll take a few trips.
[creature] To be their benefactor.
[man] We’ll need larger trunks for the structure.
[hunter 2] All right.
[creature] What could I possibly do for them?
[cheerful classical music playing]
Anna-Maria! Father!
Come! Come and see!
[gasps] Look, Anna-Maria!
Look, there’s more! Look!
Who could have done this?
The Spirit of the Forest.
We should thank him.
Thank you.
Say, “Thank you, Spirit of the Forest.”
Thank you.
Thank you, Spirit of the Forest.
[Anna-Maria giggles]
[man] Thank you.
[hunter 2] Come. Look over here.
Thank you.
From then on, I became their invisible guardian. The Spirit of the Forest. And on occasion, they too extended a small kindness towards me. Clothes, bread. And for a moment, a brief, brief moment, the world and I were at peace.
[sheep bleating]
[man] Come along. Come along.
In you go. Yeah.
[hunter 2] Make sure you close that gate.
[woman] Who could have done this?
The Spirit of the Forest, eh?
[man] I got it.
[Anna-Maria] “And in the end, the proud young man could never find his missing hand.”
“It turned to stone, his fortune gone, and he lost his pride and lost his land.”
[others clapping]
[blind man laughs]
[clapping silently]
[blind man] Very good, my dear.
Beautifully read. Now try this one.
[sheep crying]
[howling in distance]
[muffled barking]
[footsteps rumbling]
Wolves.
[wolves howling]
[foreboding music playing]
[growling]
[wolves snarling and barking ferociously]
[sheep bleating anxiously]
[sheep screeching]
[growls]
[wolves barking]
[door rattling]
[growling quietly]
[barking continues]
[gunshot]
[gasps]
[gunshot]
[wolf convulsing]
[breath trembling]
[wolf groaning]
[creature] An idea, a feeling became clear to me. The hunter did not hate the wolf. The wolf did not hate the sheep.
[growling]
[wolf barks]
But violence felt inevitable between them. Perhaps, I thought, this was the way of the world. It would hunt you and kill you just for being who you are.
[wolf snarls]
The sheep will be sold by the end of the month, Father.
Then I’ll take you, Alma and Anna-Maria into town.
We’ll go into the mountains, hunt the wolves and be back at the end of winter.
I pray here alone every winter and this year will be no different.
Please, Father, listen to reason.
You do what you must and so will I.
[man] You stubborn old goat.
It’s just you and I now, Spirit.
Just you and I.
And I had formed in my imagination many ways I would present myself to the old man.
Would he fear me?
[door creaks]
Welcome me? Turn me away?
[door creaks]
Who goes there?
[gasps]
[rat squeaks]
[gasps]
[creature] With a single step, I entered a different world. One I had only seen from afar.
[blind man] Please, who is it?
Answer me.
Tell me.
Why are you here?
[creature] Travel.
Welcome, dear traveler.
Do not think me ungrateful for the company if I ask you to procure a chair.
I… I find it difficult being a good host.
Yes.
My… My sight has failed me.
[chuckles] But there is bread and brandy on the table.
Pray help yourself.
[creature] Bran… dy?
Your language.
You have a hard time speaking it.
Are you not from these parts?
[bottle shatters]
[creature gasping]
Are you afraid?
No need to be.
What are you afraid of?
[creature] Everything.
[blind man] Your…
Your hands are frozen and you’ve been hurt, have you not?
[creature] Hurt?
Yes. Your hands and face have scars and you are wearing uniform.
Were you injured in battle?
You were hiding in the mill gears, were you not?
[creature grunts sheepishly]
[blind man] Ah!
[both chuckle]
Yeah. Yeah. The Spirit of the Forest.
[creature] Yes.
[chuckles] I cannot judge of your countenance, but there is something in your voice which persuades me of your goodwill and kindness.
Kindness?
Mm.
Stay with me.
Share my food and fire.
I would be delighted to share what little I have with you and would be greatly helped by your companionship.
And you… you could read to me.
Read?
Mm.
Make this your home and I your friend.
Friend.
Friend.
[grunting softly]
[chuckles softly]
Friends.
[creature] And it was then that I read my first story, and it was the first story. I read about a man named Adam and a woman named Eve, about their time in the first garden. I read about the rise of rival cities and the collapse of a tower and the wrath of a God. And I read about men that fought dragons and men who lost everything. And time passed and fell away with the leaves of autumn.
[tender classical music playing]
Have you never seen the snow, my dear friend?
It makes the world clean… and new.
[creature gasping in awe]
[creature] “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings.” “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair.” “No thing beside remains.” “Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare.” “The lone and level sands stretch far away.” [softly] “My name is Ozymandias…”
Are there more books than this in the world?
[blind man laughs]
A few more, I’m sure.
Not here.
Last book on the left. Take it.
We haven’t got to it.
Paradise Lost, Milton.
Man has questions for God.
Even God has questions.
I think he wanted answers and that is why he sent us his son.
Death probably intrigued him.
Suffering.
I want to know who I am.
Where do I come from?
God took your memory just as I wish he would take mine away.
Many years ago, I took a man’s life.
A good man.
And I have been atoning for it since.
Forgive.
Forget.
The true measure of wisdom.
To know you have been harmed, by whom you have been harmed, and choose to let it all fade.
But I cannot forget what I cannot remember.
Do you recall nothing?
In my dreams…
[pensive classical music playing]
…I… see memories.
Different men.
All… pieces.
[inhales sharply]
I… I remember f… fire and water.
And sand under my feet.
And a word.
A single word.
What is it?
Victor.
[blind man] Go to it. The word.
[melancholy classical music playing]
[grunting softly]
[creature] And then I learned it. The horror of the truth. I understood that I was nothing. A wretch. A blot. Not even of the same nature as man. This hurt clung to my mind. It never let go.
[thunder rumbling]
[sighs]
[melancholy classical music continues]
Then I saw it. Your name. “Victor Frankenstein.”
And where to find you.
[wind blowing]
[wolves growling and snarling]
[tense music playing]
[creature panting]
No!
No!
[screaming]
[grunting]
[growling]
[creature groaning]
[creature grunts]
[wolf yelping]
[grunts loudly]
[wolf snarling]
[bones cracking]
[both panting]
[roars gutturally]
[roaring]
[wolves howling in distance]
[labored breathing]
[melancholy classical music playing]
[blind man] You came back.
I found what I am.
What I am made from.
I am… the child of a charnel house.
A wreckage.
Assembled from refuse and the discarded dead.
[breath shuddering]
A monster.
I know what you are.
A good man.
And… you are my friend.
Friend?
Friend.
[hunter 2] What is that thing?
[gun clicks]
The… The thing from the woods?
[man] What have you done to him?
Don’t move.
[groans]
[tense music plays]
Quick! Reload! Kill it!
[screams]
[creature grunts]
[groaning softly]
[wind whistling]
[pained breathing]
[shuddering]
[grunts]
[breathing erratically]
[shudders]
[choked breathing]
[gagging]
[wheezing]
[wheezing stops]
[creature] There was silence again, and then… merciless life.
[wheezing]
[melancholy music playing]
[gagging]
[groaning]
How long did I die for? I do not know. But I saw my injuries healed. The cold winter air stung in my lungs. I felt lonelier than ever, because for every man there was but one remedy to all pain: Death, a gift you too had denied me. Envy rose within me and decided to demand a single grace from you.
My creator.
I would demand… a companion.
[fire crackling]
[Victor gasps]
[eerie inhuman screech]
[gasping]
[knock on door]
[William] I need you to get up.
[Victor] Yes, of course. Of course.
[William] The wedding will start soon and I want you by my side.
It’s hard to believe, if not for your kind nature.
[groans]
I’ve spoken to a few guests about the inquest.
About the explosion.
The majority accept it for what it was.
And what was it, William?
The past, Victor.
A terrible accident.
I intend to sell the estate.
All we have is each other.
[Victor chuckles]
[joyful classical music playing]
[creature breathing heavily]
I want you to throw the petals everywhere.
Throw them everywhere.
Mm.
Go upstairs and do some more of that.
[Victor] I know it is bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony.
[Elizabeth] Only for the groom.
[Victor] Yes, that’s right. Not for me.
Hello, Elizabeth.
[sighs in hesitation]
I’ve rarely felt remorse before and now I feel little else. I…
A fever gripped me for so long, but it has passed, and I see you now as I should.
For whatever it’s worth, I… I wish you and my little brother, who I love more than life, the very best.
You may like to believe you do.
And I dread to even hear it.
On my wedding day, I ask you but for a single grace.
No more lies.
I… I want to tell you…
Leave my chambers now.
Elizabeth.
Leave!
[grunting in anger]
[huffs sharply]
[wind howling softly]
[dramatic ominous music playing]
[breathing heavily]
[ominous music continues]
[nervous breath]
Come out of the shadows, if you are here.
[Victor gasps sharply]
[breathing shakily]
Are you here to thank me?
You survived and are intelligent enough to have found me.
I made you well.
I need you to make a companion for me.
One like me.
A com… A companion?
Oh.
I see.
Another monster.
Yes.
We can be monsters together.
I have found sanity at such a cost, and you here… are madness calling me back.
I cannot die.
And I cannot live… alone.
In you I have created something truly horrible.
Not something.
Someone.
You made someone.
Me.
Whatever puzzle I am, creator, I think.
I feel.
I have this sole petition…
Make one like me.
And then what?
Procreation.
Reproduction.
Mm…
A home?
A grave?
Death begetting death begetting death.
A race of devils propagated upon the earth.
Obscenity perpetuating itself.
I am obscene to you, but to myself I simply am.
Begone!
[grunts]
Never again will I make something like you, wicked and deformed.
Then it is still all about your will, Victor.
Hmm?
That horrible, horrible will that birthed me condemns me now?
The miracle is not that I should speak, but that you would ever listen!
[Victor yells]
[muffled crashing]
If you are not to award me love, then I will indulge in rage.
And mine is infinite.
[Victor grunts]
[loud clattering]
[guests exclaim]
Step aside.
Victor.
What’s going on?
[Elizabeth gasping]
[gentle piano music playing]
[Elizabeth sobbing softly]
[Elizabeth] You…
You…
It’s you.
[Elizabeth sobs]
Elizabeth, move away from it!
No!
[Elizabeth gasps]
[Elizabeth gasps in pain]
[guests clamoring]
[Victor] It attacked her! It attacked her!
[all grunting]
[sharp thud]
[breathing heavily]
[Elizabeth] Take me with you.
[sorrowful classical music playing]
[guests gasp, exclaim in fear]
[woman] Oh, my God!
[women scream]
[sorrowful classical music continues]
[Victor grunts]
No, let me… I can save you.
[groans] I can save you.
From what?
From you?
I fear you, Victor.
No, no…
I always have.
Every ounce of madness and destruction.
The very conflagration that devoured everything.
It all came from you.
[sobs]
You are the monster.
[Victor sobs]
[kisses]
[breathing heavily]
[wind howling]
[mournful classical music playing]
[Elizabeth sniffles]
[Elizabeth] My place was never in this world.
I sought and longed for something I could not quite name.
But in you, I found it.
To be lost and to be found, that is the lifespan of love.
[Elizabeth sobs]
And in its brevity, its tragedy…
[choking up]
This has been made eternal.
Better this way… to fade…
[sniffles]
With your eyes gazing upon me.
[Elizabeth exhales]
[creature whimpering softly]
[mournful classical music continues]
[Victor grunting]
[breathing heavily]
She is gone and I long to follow.
[both grunting]
You gave me life unwanted.
I give that back to you.
You thought me a monster.
Now I return the favor.
[bones cracking]
[screaming] Kill me! Kill me now, do it!
[groans] I will make you bleed.
I will make you humble.
You may be my creator, but from this day forward, I will be your master.
[coughs]
[grunting in pain]
[grunting]
[grunts]
[Victor panting]
[tense music playing]
[creature]
You hunted me past the forests, past the mountains, past frozen horizons, until there was nothing left. Just you… and me.
[dogs barking]
[dogs barking]
[dogs barking outside]
[indistinct chatter]
[Victor] I need ammunition.
Sharpen this.
Three cans of condensed milk, some firewood.
[breathes sharply]
And six sticks of dynamite.
[clerk] Six?
What are you hunting?
Big game.
[wind whistling]
[dogs panting]
[dogs whining and barking]
[barking intensifies]
[shivering]
[grunts, breathing heavily]
[dogs continue barking]
[gun clicks]
[footsteps approaching]
[creature groans]
[gunshot]
[Victor grunts]
[dogs barking]
[Victor whimpering]
[grunts]
[panting]
[creature growls]
[grunts]
[dogs barking]
[Victor groaning]
[creature growling]
No! No! No!
[creature] Victor.
You only listen when I hurt you.
[bones crack]
[Victor screaming]
[bones crack, snaps]
[yells in pain] [stabs]
[groaning]
This. You put your faith in this.
You think this will unmake me.
Hmm.
Light it then and hope it does, but if it does not, I will come for you again.
[screams]
Light it!
[whimpering]
Now… run.
[Victor grunting]
[suspenseful music playing]
[groans]
[Victor grunting]
[suspenseful music continues]
[Victor yells]
[grunting]
[creature] So, there you were, broken and discarded. And I, alive again.
[creature wheezing]
I could feel my singed flesh regrowing. The crackling of my bones resetting. The murmur of my blood pumping through my incessant heart. And once more finding no mercy, I had but one path.
[roaring gutturally]
[dogs barking]
[shouting in Danish]
[creature in English] And here we are. Spent and done.
No more in us to give or take.
The blood outside the tent…
[creature] It is mine.
All mine.
I will bleed.
Ache.
Suffer.
You see, it will never end.
[inhales deeply]
[wistful classical music playing]
I am sorry.
Regret consumes me.
And I now regard my life for what it was.
You will go now, creator.
Fade away.
It will all be but a brief moment.
[wheezes] My birth. My grief.
Your loss.
I will not be punished.
Nor absolved.
What hope I had, what rage…
It is all nothing.
The tide that brought me here now comes to take you away.
Leaving me stranded.
Forgive me.
My son.
[creature chokes up]
And if you have it in your heart, forgive yourself into existence.
If death is not to be, then consider this, my son.
While you are alive, what recourse do you have but to live?
Live.
Say my name.
My father gave me that name, and it meant nothing.
Now I ask you to give it back to me… one last time.
The way you said it at the beginning.
When it meant the world to you.
Victor.
[inhales sharply]
I forgive you.
[creature whimpering]
[exhales deeply]
[wistful classical music continues]
Rest now, Father.
Perhaps now, we can both be human.
[Anderson in Danish] Weapons down.
Put the weapons down!
I am responsible for my men.
He can leave.
[wind whistling]
[sentimental classical music continues]
[hull creaks]
[men exclaiming]
[ship creaking]
[sailor in Danish] We are free!
We are free!
[men cheering]
Captain…
What are your orders?
Man the sails.
Turn around.
Do you want to tell the men?
Men!
We’re sailing home!
We’re sailing home!
[all cheering]
[Larsen shouts in Danish]
[sentimental classical music playing]
[wind whistling]
[sentimental music continues]
[somber classical music playing]
[sentimental classical music playing]
[dramatic classical music playing]
[pensive classical music playing]
[upbeat classical music playing]
