CREATURE FEATURE...

Stars on Del Toro's Frankenstein epic

- By Lynn Rusk

SCIENTIST: Oscar Isaac, also below, as Victor Frankenstein, and (above) Mia Goth as Elizabeth

MEXICAN filmmaker Guillermo del Toro was seven years old when he first saw the 1931 film Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff as the Creature.

The 61-year-old Oscar-winning director says that through Karloff’s eyes, he felt a jolt of recognition and, from that moment, Gothic horror became his church, and the Creature his Messiah.

Now, 54 years after first encountering Mary Shelley's classic, Del Toro has reimagined the 1818 tale, telling the final part of the story from the Creature's point of view.

Del Toro, whose films include Pan's Labyrinth and The Shape Of Water, which won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, are usually characterised by Gothicism and magical realism.

“Ever since I was a kid, since my first Super 8 movie to now, I've dreamt of making two movies, Pinocchio and Frankenstein,” Del Toro says.