Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein' Stuns Venice with 13-Minute Ovation, Defying AI Metaphors

Guillermo del Toro's highly anticipated adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic, "Frankenstein," premiered at the Venice Film Festival to a rapturous 13-minute standing ovation, the longest of the festival. Starring Jacob Elordi as the creature and Oscar Isaac as the brilliant but egotistical scientist Victor Frankenstein, the gothic sci-fi film is a deeply personal project for del Toro, fulfilling a lifelong dream to bring his vision of the story to the screen.

Despite its timely themes of hubris and a creation spinning out of control, del Toro insists his film is not a metaphor for artificial intelligence. Instead, he describes it as a layered family drama that explores the rights of imperfect characters to remain imperfect and to understand each other under oppressive circumstances. The director, known for his empathetic approach to monsters, humorously stated he fears