A Monster Movie

More than a week after the Day of the Dead, I am finally finished with my posts about it.  However, today's post is apropos for Halloween.  The day after Halloween, we were trying to decide what to do in the afternoon before going to see the Ballet Folklórico.  Because the Day of the Dead Parade was going to be held that day, heading to the Paseo de la Reforma or the the "Centro Histórico" was out.  Those areas would be a chaotic mess.  We did not want to go too far afield since we had to be in Chapultepec Park in the early evening for the ballet. So we took a look at what was playing at the local movie theaters.  Mexican director Guillermo del Toro's new version of "Frankenstein" had premiered at the World Trade Center Cinema.  So we walked a couple blocks to the World Trade Center for the 12:15 showing.

(image taken from the internet)

First of all, I must say that I am NOT a fan of horror or sci-fi movies!  Yet I have thoroughly enjoyed several of Guillermo del Toro's films... specifically his Spanish language films "Pan's Labyrinth" and "The Devil's Backbone", and his Oscar-winning film "The Shape of Water"  in English.  So, his "Frankenstein" was on my list of movies that I want to see this autumn.

The movie did not disappoint.  Even though it is long (over two and a half hours), it never lost my interest.  It is unlike earlier "Frankenstein" movies (for one thing, the creature does not have bolts sticking out of his neck), and it is closer to the original novel written by Mary Shelley in 1818.  Although del Toro took liberties with the novel, it is in spirit more of a dark, Gothic story than a horror movie.  It is more about the implications of a human trying to play god.  The film's lead actors, Oscar Isaac, who plays Dr. Frankenstein, and Jacob Elordi, who plays the creature, were both excellent.  (I have to admit that I had never heard of Elordi, an Australian actor, before.)   I think that the movie will receive numerous Oscar nominations.

Now, I am waiting for another critically acclaimed movie, "Nuremburg", to premier here in Mexico.