We all react to fear differently. At least, that’s how I’m choosing to explain Oscar Isaac’s first reaction to seeing his Frankenstein co-star Jacob Elordi in full creature makeup. While I thought the Creature’s design in the 2025 movie release was hauntingly beautiful and strikingly macabre, Isaac’s response was… less poetic. The Moon Knight actor couldn’t help himself and completely burst out laughing, and there’s a video of him playfully roasting Elordi.
Isaac recently joined Elordi and director Guillermo del Toro to reflect on that first on-set moment. During the trio’s interview with Discussing Film (which was posted to its TikTok account), it was revealed that the laughter came fast the first time Isaac laid eyes on the fully transformed Creature. As you can see in the video below, the Doctor Frankenstein performer couldn’t help but jab his castmate:
Guillermo del Toro is quite the joker himself, and even he had to get in on the story. Del Toro, pretending to scribble, interrupted with a smirk:
[faux writing in journal] ‘Guillermo tempts me, I resist.’
Isaac always the constant professional, leaned right into the bit. Mimicking del Toro’s voice, he said:
‘I resisted the temptation… for now.’
Then the laughter gave way to something much deeper as the Dune alur shared what he’d captured in his journal. He continued:
I said it was heartbreaking. Immediately, the feeling was—this was a moment when [the Creature] comes in with quite a lot of rage, but I still found it so shockingly delicate and graceful. So lonely.
It’s a contrast that defines the film: terrifying visuals paired with an emotional core that sneaks up on you. Guillermo del Toro’s beautiful Frankenstein adaptation doesn’t just reanimate a literary classic, but digs deep into grief, rage, love, and abandonment, using monster makeup that somehow makes you feel more, not less.
There has been plenty of debate about how much del Toro’s new book-to-screen adaptation strays from Mary Shelley’s original novel. And, yes, there are major changes. However, what stands out most to me is how much it gets right, and those are elements that, until now, no adaptation has fully captured on screen.
As a lifelong Frankenstein fan, not just of the novel (which happens to be my favorite book of all time), but of nearly every film version. I’ve seen it all. From James Whale’s 1930s classic to the Hammer horrors of the ’70s, and yes, even the De Niro-led version from the ’90s, (which has its moments). But what Guillermo del Toro nails here is giving Jacob Elordi the space to be terrifying when needed, while still revealing the Creature as something beautifully broken, achingly lonely in the quiet between the violence. And, most importantly, hauntingly human.
So, sure, Oscar Isaac might’ve laughed the first time he saw the Creature in full makeup, and the clip above is indeed funny. But, for a number of viewers like myself, I think Jacob Elordi’s portrayal is going to stay with them for a long, long time.
You can make up your own mind on whether the monster is laughable or terrifying by cueing up Frankenstein with your Netflix subscription and giving it a watch.