{"id":47411,"date":"2025-11-03T11:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T16:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=47411"},"modified":"2025-11-03T11:00:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T16:00:05","slug":"guillermo-del-toros-frankenstein-where-monsters-and-faith-collide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/11\/guillermo-del-toros-frankenstein-where-monsters-and-faith-collide.html","title":{"rendered":"Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’: Where Monsters and Faith Collide"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Left: Andrea Raffin \/ Shutterstock.com | Right: Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Guillermo del Toro, the Oscar-winning director behind films like Frankenstein, <\/em>monsters and faith collide when his personal faith background shapes his interpretation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel.<\/p>\n

Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, in 1964, the acclaimed director, writer, producer, and special effects make-up designer was raised in a strict Catholic household. However, his upbringing persisted throughout his studies at the University of Guadalajara’s Film Studies Center and in several subsequent roles during the 80s and 90s, before Miramax hired him to direct Mimic, <\/em>his first studio movie, in 1997.<\/p>\n

Even though<\/a>, according to an interview with MovieMaker, “it took him three decades to find a studio to finance and bring his vision of Frankenstein <\/em>to life,” when Netflix picked up the film, del Toro felt free to bring his whole self, including his faith and spirituality, into the “iconic story of a man-made monster.”<\/p>\n

Take, for example, the moral responsibility of forgiveness. To Catholics, forgiving others as they have been forgiven is grounded in both the teachings of Jesus and the mercy of God. In a twist of fate (or of Christian spirituality), in del Toro’s version of the film<\/a>, “life enters the body on the cross, and the Creature is thrust into the world to suffer the sins of man and learn what del Toro considers to be one of life’s most important lessons: forgiveness.”<\/p>\n

The filmmaker is unabashedly forthcoming about his own beliefs regarding forgiveness \u2013 not only does he believe it is never too late for forgiveness, but he also stresses that it’s the main message of the movie. Even if humility, devotion, love, and acceptance are harder to accept in the world today, to del Toro, the question of forgiveness<\/a> “remains in our complicated human saga if we can learn to own our failures and forgive each other in real life.”<\/p>\n

The same goes for showing compassion to those who have been outcast, which, for many Christians, is the very embodiment of the person of Christ. Just as he showed love to those who were marginalized and outcast by society, in del Toro’s Frankenstein, <\/em>the creature takes on a saintlier aura<\/a>:<\/p>\n

He’d never throw a little girl into a lake, because his inborn innocence would somehow prevent him from doing so. While Shelley’s depiction of the monster emphasized his spiritual dichotomy \u2013 his perfect teeth and glossy hair paired with his yellow skin and abhorrent appearance \u2013 del Toro transforms the creature into something akin to a god. He looks a little different, sure. But he’s built like Michelangelo’s David in all its marbled, muscular glory.<\/em><\/p>\n

To writer Paul Asay,<\/a> this love of the outsider goes too far, “because there’s no monster in the creature, and that undercuts the story’s dissonance, and thus, robs it of some of its power.” To those who resonate with showing compassion to outcasts, however, this part of del Toro’s interpretation may be the most powerful of all.<\/p>\n

Lastly, del Toro’s faith background is seen in the way he depicts the human longing for connection in Frankenstein. <\/em>Just as those within the Christian tradition point to the trinitarian relationship existent between the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, for del Toro<\/a>, “the creature resolves the chain of pain for his father, Victor \u2026 there is a beautiful reflection about the role of pain as a learning tool of humanity.”<\/p>\n

Pain may be present in this exchange, but it is felt even more deeply because of the relationship that already existed. Just as Jesus longed for a deep connection with both the Spirit and the Father, humans continue to long for connection and relationship \u2013 some with the three persons of the Trinity and all with the rest of humanity.<\/p>\n

Del Toro might be recreating an epic tale of the monsters among us, but his creative choices no doubt point to the faith of his childhood and to storytelling elements shaped by Christian doctrine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Guillermo del Toro, the Oscar-winning director behind films like Frankenstein, monsters and faith collide when his personal faith background shapes his interpretation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel. Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, in 1964, the acclaimed director, writer, producer, and special effects make-up designer was raised in a strict Catholic household. However, his upbringing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":47414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nGuillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein': Where Monsters and Faith Collide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro infuses Frankenstein with his Catholic roots, exploring forgiveness, compassion, and faith.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/11\/guillermo-del-toros-frankenstein-where-monsters-and-faith-collide.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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