Guillermo del Toro Changes Frankenstein In 2 Major Ways, and Made the Story Better

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Guillermo del Toro‘s Frankenstein finally came out 18 years after he first started planning it. He envisioned a deeply sad and moving take on the story, emphasizing that he was a long-time admirer of Mary Shelley’s original novel – the source material for many films. Del Toro felt that the most powerful aspects of Shelley’s work hadn’t been captured on screen before. He aimed to build on the success of the 1931 Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, but create something fresh and more than just a retelling of a familiar story.

Del Toro successfully reimagined Mary Shelley’s classic tale, staying true to the original while also making a few key alterations. Thankfully, these changes enhanced the story and made it even more impactful.

Guillermo Del Toro Changed Dr. Frankenstein’s Love Life

I remember being really shocked when I first learned about Lady Elizabeth in Frankenstein. She’s Dr. Frankenstein’s love interest, and in the movies, they even get married! But in the book, things are much darker. The Creature, feeling completely abandoned and desperate for companionship, decides to get revenge on Victor. He knows Elizabeth is the most important person in Victor’s life, so he kills her at his wedding, making sure Victor feels the same crushing loneliness he does.

In the original Universal films, the Creature didn’t kill Elizabeth. The idea of him wanting a companion first appeared in the sequel, Bride of Frankenstein. That movie actually created a mate for him, but when she refused him, he let Victor Frankenstein and Elizabeth escape and live happily. He then destroyed the castle, killing the Bride, himself, and the cynical Doctor Pretorius.

Guillermo del Toro reimagined the story from the sequel by removing the romantic connection between Elizabeth and Frankenstein. In his version, Elizabeth (played by Mia Goth) is engaged to Frankenstein’s brother, William (Felix Kammerer). While Victor is drawn to Elizabeth, she loves his brother and strongly dislikes Victor’s character. The Creature doesn’t seek to harm Elizabeth; instead, he confronts Victor at William’s wedding, demanding that Victor create a companion for him. When Victor refuses and attempts to kill the Creature, he mistakenly shoots and kills Elizabeth.

This change was important for a few key reasons. Seeing Victor fall in love with Elizabeth, only to watch her marry his brother, was deeply sad. It highlighted Victor’s destined loneliness, mirroring the Creature’s isolation. He’d already lost his mother as a child and felt rejected by his father, and now he was witnessing his brother find the happiness that always eluded him. When Victor not only caused the death of his brother’s future wife but then saw his brother die as well, he became as utterly alone as the Creature, forging a powerful connection between them.

The Frankenstein Ending Was Changed for the Better

Guillermo del Toro opted for a different ending in his film than the ones found in both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein novel and the classic Universal Horror movies. In Shelley’s book, Victor Frankenstein recounts his story to sailors stranded on an icebound ship, and then dies from his injuries. The Creature discovers him only after he’s passed away. However, the movies omit the ship entirely, and in Bride of Frankenstein, Victor doesn’t die – the Creature lets him live at the film’s conclusion.

Del Toro cleverly brings the ship back into the narrative, but uses it differently than Shelley did. In the original story, Dr. Frankenstein recounts the entire tale to the ship’s captain. However, in the film, he only shares the beginning – up to when he attempts to abandon his creation. The Creature then returns to the ship while Victor is still alive and takes over the storytelling. We then see the Creature caring for an elderly man and eventually confronting Victor at his wedding, where a tragic accident leads to the death of Victor’s wife, Elizabeth.

The Creature sought revenge on his creator, both for abandoning him and for killing Elizabeth, the only person besides the old man who had shown him kindness. Unlike the classic Universal film, this new movie didn’t include the scene where the Creature unintentionally kills a young girl. Here, the Creature only resorted to killing those who directly threatened him.

The film’s ending differs from the novel by showing the Creature finding Victor while he’s still alive. This provides a sense of resolution missing from the original story, as Victor finally expresses compassion, apologizes for abandoning the Creature, and asks for forgiveness – which the Creature grants before Victor dies. This makes Del Toro’s version more satisfying than previous adaptations, firmly establishing the Creature as a sympathetic figure and Victor as the tragic antagonist – a dynamic that was always intended by the story.

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2025-10-24 21:42