This image released by Netflix shows Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein in a scene from “Frankenstein.” (Ken Woroner/Netflix via AP)

Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” is a visual feast, a long-planned pet project of the filmmaker, who has tackled the themes of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly’s 1818 novel many times before. After briefly appearing in theaters, “Frankenstein” is now on Netflix.

For those who have never encountered the novel or any of the film adaptations before, this is a thorough, if personal adaptation (nitpickers will note the differences, though del Toro’s choices for deviation are worthwhile).

For someone like me, who read the novel at age 9, was haunted by it and has experienced nearly every film version of the story available, I was most riveted when del Toro strays from the expected and makes this monster mash his own.

A lengthy prologue allows us to see Victor Frankenstein as a boy, when he is educated and heavily disciplined by his cold father (a brilliant turn by Charles Dance) and becomes obsessed with the notion of cheating death.

The story jumps to Frankenstein’s days as a young man (played by Oscar Isaac), failing to convince his university superiors of the value of his experiments; this bit includes a wild creature effect that demonstrates early how far del Toro is willing to take all of this.

When a benefactor (played by Christoph Waltz) surfaces and agrees to fund Frankenstein’s proposed experiment, a castle is acquired, conductors made of silver and a pivotal discovery regarding the back of a corpse put the mad plot to resurrect the dead in motion.

Shelly’s novel also bookends the entire tale with a sailing expedition in the Arctic, a sequence here that was better handled in Kenneth Branagh’s “Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein” (1994), the movie del Toro’s resembles the most. Although Branagh’s overdone film falls apart at the end, it benefitted from rich casting choices and awesome towering sets. Both the ’25 and ’94 versions have fantastic “creation” scenes, though only Branagh’s version lets the title character utter, “It’s alive.”

Branagh’s film (which was co-written by Frank Darabont) has my favorite line of dialogue for the Creature, who confesses to his creator: “For the kindness of one human being, I would make peace with all.” In del Toro’s film, the best line is easily Elizabeth reminding the mad scientist “only monsters play God.”

In the title role, Isaac works hard but never owns the role the way Colin Clive does in the classic 1931 version. What drives the film is Jacob Elordi’s fantastic, compassionate take on the Creature. Mia Goth is hypnotic as Elizabeth, playing the love of both the doctor and the Creature, and Dance dominates the crucial first half.

Aside from Branagh’s underrated take, the film it resembles the most is del Toro’s Best Picture Oscar winner, “The Shape of Water” (2017), yet another exploration from the filmmaker about how humankind are the true monsters, whereas the creatures are searching for empathy and understanding. This is del Toro’s best-looking film since “Crimson Peak” (2015).

I don’t find del Toro’s “Frankenstein” to be on the level with his “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006) or his recent double knockout of “Nightmare Alley” (my favorite film of 2021) and “Pinocchio” (2022). The reason why it doesn’t hit the masterpiece level of many del Toro’s works isn’t Isaac’s fault but the sheer familiarity of the material.

Much of this is Shelly’s story as we know it. The director uses the two and a half hour running time to build character and patiently craft the narrative, but there’s lots here that other takes on “Frankenstein” have done better. This version is at its best when, for example, del Toro has the floors of his sets covered in blood. The climactic moments, with the Creature pursuing his maker on the ice are visually breathtaking. So are the beauty and the beast moments between Goth and Elordi.

In addition to the performances (only Waltz is truly wasted), the sets, costumes, makeup and music score by Alexandre Desplat are all wondrous.

Here is an event film that lives up to the promise of a brilliant filmmaker getting to personalize one of his favorite horror tales.

(3.5 out of 4 stars)

Barry Wurst II is the founder of the Hawaii Film Critics Society and teaches film classes at University of Hawai’i Maui College.