Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ and the Best Frankenstein Movies. Plus: Jennifer Lawrence Is Ablaze in ‘Die My Love.’

Michael 2026

Antoine Fuqua's Michael Jackson biopic. The hosts pan the trailer as flat and near-AI in its polish; Miles Teller plays Jackson's attorney. A legal fight with the Jackson estate forced a third-act rewrite and a delay out of October, which the hosts blame for the worst box-office October in 25 years.

The Testament of Ann Lee 2025

Mona Fastvold's musical about the Shaker founder, with Amanda Seyfried. Sean and Amanda have seen it: 'not a perfect movie, but a fascinating one,' strongest in its first half.

Frankenstein 2025

Del Toro's 13th feature, from the Mary Shelley novel. Oscar Isaac's Victor plays broad; Jacob Elordi's creature is the emotional center and the part del Toro clearly cares about. All three admire the practical sets, creature design (by Mike Hill), and costumes, but find the film gray, flat, and undercut by weak CGI: 'more interested in the depth of its sets than the depth of its characters.' Split down the middle: Amanda finds the reading facile, Sean lands on admire-not-love, Rob likes it. In awards play for the below-the-line crafts, with Elordi a long shot for Best Supporting Actor.

Frankenstein (1931)

James Whale's version: still taught, still scary, and it works on a seven-year-old.

Bride of Frankenstein 1935

Whale's follow-up, cited alongside the original as the peak.

The Curse of Frankenstein 1957

Sean's pick of the Hammer films; a new Warner Archive 4K is out.

Flesh for Frankenstein 1973

Paul Morrissey's depraved double-revival take. Rob's a fan; del Toro's could have used its freak flag.

Depraved 2019

Larry Fessenden's clever reimagining, with a revived U.S. soldier.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein 1994

Kenneth Branagh's operatic version, with De Niro as the monster. The unmade Frank Darabont script has a cult reputation; del Toro says reading it made him want to make his own.

Edward Scissorhands 1990

The Spirit of the Beehive 1973

Kids see the Whale film and are changed forever.

RoboCop 1987

The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975

Phantom of the Paradise 1974

De Palma's rock opera.

Re-Animator 1985

One of the greatest horror movies ever, per Sean.

Poor Things 2023

Gods and Monsters 1998

The James Whale biopic.

Gothic 1986

Ken Russell's night of horror writers scaring each other.

Young Frankenstein 1974

Mel Brooks: 'one of the funniest movies ever made.'

Frankenhooker 1990

A prostitute killed in a lawnmower accident, then revived.

Weird Science 1985

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 1948

Sean watched it with his kid at the Academy Museum.

Frankenweenie 2012

Tim Burton's overt riff.

Stitch Head 2025

New animated Frankenstein riff in theaters for Halloween.

The Bride 2026

Maggie Gyllenhaal's coming version, with Christian Bale as the monster and Jessie Buckley as the bride.

Die My Love 2025

Impressionistic, experiential film about postpartum depression, with Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson as a couple who move from New York to Montana. Amanda calls it one of her favorites of the year, catered directly to her; Rob loved it while wanting to throw up throughout. All three rate Lawrence's feral, largely naked performance the best of her career, though they doubt the film is a big enough awards play for her to get in. Martin Scorsese read the source novel and suggested Lawrence for the part; she was pregnant during filming.