TORONTO - Guillermo del Toro first met 鈥淔rankenstein鈥 at the age of seven, and in the Creature鈥檚 tortured gaze, he saw himself.
A local television channel in Guadalajara, Mexico ran horror films on Sundays from morning to night, and when he stumbled across the 1931 monster movie, Boris Karloff鈥檚 performance struck him deeply.聽
鈥淚 identified with him completely,鈥 del Toro recalls.聽
"I said, 'That鈥檚 how it feels to be me on the inside 鈥 that creature that is out of place, nobody is completely happy with him.'"
He laughs softly, remembering the moment his lifelong obsession began.
鈥淭hen at 11, I read the book, and I thought, 鈥榃hat is this? The book is completely different from the movie.鈥 And I said, 鈥業 can do that movie!鈥 Youthful exuberance, you know? And then it just took about 40 years to do.鈥
Del Toro鈥檚 鈥淔rankenstein鈥 is a $120-million, Toronto-shot epic decades in gestation 鈥 one the 61-year-old filmmaker says he鈥檚 glad he didn鈥檛 sire sooner.
鈥淚f I鈥檇 made it when I was younger, it would have just been the gripes of a son toward a father,鈥 he says of his adaptation of Mary Shelley鈥檚 Gothic classic, which hits theatres Friday before streaming on Netflix on Nov. 7.
It wasn鈥檛 until he became a parent himself 鈥 raising two daughters, now adults 鈥 that he gained the perspective to approach it fully.
鈥淣ow it鈥檚 about the desire for forgiveness of a father who was originally a son, and who realizes life has thrown him into a role he鈥檚 not fulfilling,鈥 he says during a virtual interview.
Oscar Isaac stars as Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the anguished scientist obsessed with creating life, while Jacob Elordi plays the Creature he brings into existence.
Del Toro, who鈥檚 made a career of empathizing with monsters 鈥 from 2006鈥檚 鈥淧an鈥檚 Labyrinth鈥 to his Oscar-winning 2017 fantasy 鈥淭he Shape of Water鈥 鈥 says his 鈥淔rankenstein鈥 is the story of a 鈥渃hain of pain鈥 fathers hand down to sons, and what it takes to break it.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 very biographical,鈥 he admits. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not in the book. That鈥檚 not Mary Shelley. That鈥檚 me.鈥
Born in Mexico to an actress mother and an automotive entrepreneur father, del Toro says he vowed early on to forge his own path.
鈥淵ou say, 鈥業'm going to be different than my father鈥 when you're young. And then at 40, your father is in the mirror. All of a sudden, 鈥榊ou go, 鈥極h my God, I'm my old man,鈥欌 he laughs.
鈥淎nd now, after 50, I am turning into my mother. One day I'll be just me.鈥
Becoming a father, del Toro says, has given him the chance to break generational patterns.聽
鈥淭o listen 鈥 that鈥檚 the big change,鈥 he says of what parenting has taught him.
鈥淔riends tell me their kids are going through a difficult age, and I go, 鈥楴o, they鈥檙e telling you the truth. You just don鈥檛 want to hear it.鈥 But when you wonder, 鈥榃hat if they're right? What if I was absent? What if I was selfish?鈥 Then you snap out of it and you go, 鈥極h my God, they're absolutely right.鈥欌澛
When we first meet Dr. Frankenstein, he鈥檚 gripped by fear as the Creature hunts him down, determined to confront the man who both created and abandoned him.
Del Toro hints at a similar reckoning 鈥 when his own daughters became teenagers, they held him accountable too, forcing him to face the parts of himself he鈥檇 rather ignore.
鈥淎ll that rage teenagers feel is actually an act of love. They want you to not be that person, for your own good. And when it's successful, it's very moving. In my case, it took time, but it was successful.鈥
At the film鈥檚 Toronto International Film Festival premiere last month, del Toro quipped during a Q&A that he鈥檚 in his 鈥渞egret decade,鈥 drawing audience laughter.聽
But he says he meant it sincerely.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e young, you have a mission. Later, you have remission,鈥 he says. 鈥淵ou go, 鈥業 wish I had been more wise. Or the opposite 鈥 I wish I had been wilder.鈥 The balance in life is between love and fear and you can have regrets about both. You may have loved too much or feared too much.鈥
He chuckles when asked which side he leans toward.
鈥淚鈥檒l figure it out when I鈥檓 70 鈥 and then I鈥檒l die,鈥 he grins. 鈥淎t 60, you start doing the final accounting: 鈥業 owe this much money, I have this much money.鈥 It鈥檚 the same with emotions or spiritual stuff.鈥
That sense of reflection carries into his upcoming projects. He鈥檚 working on an animated adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro鈥檚 novel 鈥淭he Buried Giant,鈥 which he calls 鈥90 per cent about regret and 10 per cent about memory.鈥
Remorse also shows up in 鈥淔ury,鈥 a thriller del Toro is writing that will reunite him with Isaac.
鈥淚t's about two men that regret very different pasts, and they basically travel together in a journey while killing people, and they talk. It's my 鈥楧inner with Andre鈥 with a bunch of murder.鈥
While it may seem unlikely that a director of his stature would dwell on past mistakes, del Toro insists success doesn鈥檛 spare anyone.
鈥淚 have known many of the great artists of our times, and they're also human. The fact that you're good at one thing means that you must be really bad at a dozen others,鈥 he says.
鈥淚 have never met a perfect person, fortunately.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published Oct.15, 2025.
