The Spanish-Language Movie That Influenced Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein

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I’ve been following Guillermo del Toro for years, and it’s amazing to see his passion projects finally come to life! He’s always talked about how a certain movie really stuck with him as a kid, and it clearly inspired his recent take on Frankenstein. He’s been wanting to make this film since 2007 – almost 20 years! – and it’s incredible that it’s finally out, even if it started with a limited theatrical run and then went straight to Netflix.

Guillermo del Toro aimed to create the ultimate Frankenstein movie. He achieved this with a visually stunning and emotionally resonant film focusing on a creature left behind by its creator. The choices Del Toro made in his adaptation can be understood by looking at a key inspiration in his work.

Guillermo Del Toro Called Spirit Of The Beehive An Inspiration For His Movies

Guillermo del Toro developed a passion for classic Gothic horror stories as a child. Born in Mexico in 1964, he was particularly influenced by the 1973 Spanish film The Spirit of the Beehive when he was just nine years old.

The film centers on Ana, a quiet six-year-old girl living in a small Spanish village following the end of the Spanish Civil War, a conflict won by Franco’s forces. Her father cares for bees, while her mother often seems lost in her own thoughts.

Ana and her friend Isabel go to an outdoor movie showing of Frankenstein, and the film has a profound effect on Ana. This impact grows when she travels to the countryside and encounters someone in need, leading her to realize that true monsters aren’t always who you expect.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Guillermo del Toro enthusiastically praised The Spirit of the Beehive, calling it a deeply influential film. He explained that it “seeped into my very soul,” and mentioned it alongside other impactful movies like Night of the Hunter, Frankenstein (directed by Whale), and Los Olvidados by Buñuel.

The Spirit of the Beehive Shows How Frankenstein’s Mythos Affected Children

That interview wasn’t focused on the story of Frankenstein; it was about Guillermo del Toro’s film, Pan’s Labyrinth. During the conversation, del Toro revealed that the character in his earlier film, Cronos, was intentionally modeled after Ana Torrent’s performance in Spirit. You can also see similarities between Ana Torrent and the character Ofelia in Pan’s Labyrinth.

The reality is that Ana was quite young – only six – when she first saw Frankenstein, and Guillermo del Toro was nine when The Spirit of the Beehive was released. These are ages when children are easily influenced. In The Spirit of the Beehive, a friend tries to explain that movies aren’t real, but then describes Frankenstein’s Monster as a kind of visible ghost you can summon by closing your eyes.

This sets the stage for a heartbreaking story: Ana discovers a wounded Republic soldier and selflessly helps him, providing food and clothes. But the situation quickly becomes difficult, and Ana is forced to mature too quickly, finding herself haunted by echoes of the story Frankenstein in her thoughts.

This story follows a young girl deeply moved by the plight of a Monster abandoned by its maker and shunned by the world. Troubled by such cruelty, she feels compelled to help and protect the creature, forming a strong connection with it.

Guillermo del Toro consistently shows a clear preference for monsters over humans in his films. Whether it’s in movies like Pan’s Labyrinth, The Devil’s Backbone, Hellboy, The Shape of Water, or his take on Frankenstein, his stories often center around protecting the monsters from humanity.

That’s exactly the story Guillermo del Toro shared when he was finally able to direct his version of Frankenstein.

Guillermo Del Toro Brings His Childlike Wonder Into His Frankenstein

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein builds his Creature but is immediately horrified and runs away, leaving it completely alone. Because of this abandonment, the Creature seeks revenge on Victor by killing the people he cares about. Ultimately, the Creature is the only one left feeling remorseful for his actions.

Guillermo del Toro’s take on Frankenstein builds on ideas first explored in The Spirit of the Beehive, weaving those themes into his film. He portrays himself as the new guardian of the Creature, tasked with protecting it. Importantly, del Toro’s film features a ‘Creature,’ not ‘Frankenstein’s Monster,’ and this being is ultimately more humane than its creator ever intended.

As a big fan of Del Toro’s take on Frankenstein, I’ve always appreciated how he reframes the story. It’s not the Creature doing the killing unless he’s directly threatened – he’s purely acting in self-defense. What’s really interesting is that all the truly awful deaths are actually caused by Victor Frankenstein himself! In the original novel, the Monster took the blame for everything, but here, it’s clear that Frankenstein is the real killer, and the Creature is just trying to hold him accountable for his actions.

The film The Spirit of the Beehive powerfully illustrates the trauma a child experiences when confronted with the harsh realities of the world. It suggests that children aren’t frightened by fantastical monsters, but by the cruelty they witness in other people. This idea is echoed in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, where he portrays the Creature as a victim deserving of protection from his malicious creator.

Sources: Entertainment Weekly

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2025-11-11 22:42