Robert De Niro's 'Ambitious & Visually Striking' Monster Film With 42% RT Is Streaming on Netflix

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 horror adaptation starring Robert De Niro and Helena Bonham Carter, is now streaming on Netflix as of October 1. The film is directed by Branagh, who plays Dr. Viktor Frankenstein, a scientist obsessed with curing death. His experiments lead to a creature built from dismembered body parts, portrayed by De Niro. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 42% approval rating from critics and 49% from audiences—ratings that haven’t kept the movie in frequent conversation. The article argues that, decades later, its strengths are increasingly evident, citing performances and the film’s “visually spectacular” look. It also points to a renewed Frankenstein wave, including del Toro’s 2025 Frankenstein and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride.