At over two hundred years old, Mary Shelley’s novel is more relevant than ever. While this novel is often regarded as the first true science fiction novel, its story transcends the genre it defined. At face value, Frankenstein is a convoluted horror story meant to be told over a campfire. Yet, its prevalence in media throughout the past two hundred years must indicate a greater meaning. Various interpretations have seen Frankenstein as a warning of technology, a criticism of religion, a simple horror story, and most importantly, a commentary on humanity’s true nature. The latter interpretation has recently grown in popularity and may be the most true to Shelley’s original intentions.
2023 and 2024 have been big years for Frankenstein, and 2025 may possibly be its most important yet. Most notably, 2023 saw the release of Yorgos Lanthimos’ film Poor Things, an adaptation of Alasdair Gray’s novel of the same name, which retold the more book-accurate story of artificial life discovering the world. Emma Stone’s portrayal of Bella Baxter, the film’s monster equivalent, delivers nearly all of the story’s comedy and drama masterfully in a way that somewhat grounds the absurdity of Frankenstein’s premise. Bella experiences the evils and beauties of humanity, summing up her view after an excursion in Portugal by saying, “I have adventured the world and found nothing but sugar and violence. It is most charming.” This quote encapsulates much of what the film has to say and puts a positive spin on Shelley’s original work. Shelley’s take on humanity, without spoiling the story, seems to be more pessimistic, yet it also acknowledges how human nature is more than simply good or evil.
In 2024, Zelda Williams’ horror-comedy film, Lisa Frankenstein, had much else to say. Instead of relying on melodrama and true horror to retell Frankenstein, Williams uses slapstick comedy to do the trick. She takes the trope of a monster not belonging in society and turns it into a goth teenager struggling to fit into high school in the American 1980s. The story has been told before on countless occasions, yet Williams makes a deliberate choice to use Frankenstein as its primary reference. More than anything else, this movie highlights Frankenstein’s persistence as a relevant story to be told and retold time and time again. Lisa Frankenstein works as a love letter to horror as a genre, making multiple references to greats such as Scream or The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and highlights Frankenstein as the genre’s most pivotal work.
Despite such prevalent attention in recent media, Frankenstein is still widely misunderstood in the public eye. Most people, only exposed to the story through social osmosis, would still say that the titular Frankenstein is the monster himself, perhaps a result of Universal’s Bride of Frankenstein. Because of this, Guillermo Del Toro’s upcoming film adaptation of Frankenstein is vital in continuing the story’s legacy with the author’s original intention in mind. In a 2010 interview with Collider, Del Toro cited the novel as his favorite of all time, a quote that fills all fans of the book with hope. In the novel’s two-hundred-year existence, it has never seen a true, faithful adaptation. So, Del Toro, known for his work in the horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres, is seemingly the perfect choice. 2025 could mark the year that Frankenstein finally gets the adaptation it deserves. Frankenstein’s legacy in this generation seems to depend on this film, as it either cements itself as a cornerstone in the contemporary storytelling world or is once again reanimated, only to end up digging its own grave.
