As we enter the back half of TIFFty and the films start to almost literally run together as I go from screening to screening with often minutes between start and end times, I’m finding interesting commonalities between films that may or may not be intentional or even real. But functioning on low-single-digit hours of sleep and whatever coffee they’re giving out at the press office, they’re real to me, dammit.
To this point, I started Day 6 with two somewhat unconventional takes on the monster movie, even though one of the two is one of the earliest monster movies. But both Bryan Fuller’s Dust Bunny and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein address the struggle to control one’s monsters, and if they even can or should be controlled. Both films have meticulously-designed sets and precocious leads even if I may be stretching the definition of ‘precocious’ slightly with regard to Oscar Issac’s Victor in Frankenstein. But if I’m being honest Issac reads as precocious to me in almost all of his roles.
In Bryan Fuller’s Dust Bunny, a smart-for-her-age young girl named Aurora (Sophie Sloan) is plagued by a giant, vicious bunny that lives under her bed. This monster emerges at night and devours anyone that dares to touch the floor, including Aurora’s foster parents. In an attempt to subdue this voracious creature, Aurora seeks the help of her neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen, whose character goes unnamed for most of the film) who happens to hunt monsters himself. Of everything in the TIFF lineup and certainly Midnight Madness, Dust Bunny is by far the most kid-friendly outing of the bunch and should have a ton of appeal to both the younger and older crowds with its rich costume and set design, very good chemistry between Mikkelsen and Sloan, and creature design that feels both irreverent and deadly serious when it needs to be. Check it out for yourself in the trailer!
And then, my most anticipated film of the entire festival. There are some films that just have you right at the moment you sit in your seat. In recent memory, those films have been The Substance, Poor Things, and both of Villeneuve’s desert adventures, Dune Part One and Part Two. So many of Guillermo del Toro’s projects cultivate that feeling for me, having me close to rabid before the lights even dim in the theatre. Frankenstein was no different, and despite what the Shelley purists and other critics have said about the project, del Toro’s take on the classic novel and the monster contained therein had me rapt from the moment I sat down until long after the credits rolled.
With Frankenstein, del Toro has (in my opinion, wisely) chosen to walk his own distinctive path with his portrayal of the not-so-good Victor and his monster (Jacob Elordi). Elordi especially imbues the monster with tenderness and vulnerability, which is nothing to sneeze at while also playing an unkillable giant. And playing against him, the other half of this pair that is drawn together throughout Victor’s life, is Issac, who understands the assignment perhaps better than most. Issac’s Victor feels like someone who’s read my pal Carol’s article about the character being a “tech bro of the Romantic Era who drops out of school to follow his passion, and creates something intended to save humanity that really did not save humanity.” And not only read it but has taken the criticism. Because del Toro’s Victor – still a too-arrogant dropout with tech bro ambitions – and his monster might improve, if not save, humanity by becoming human in all the ways it matters.
And you already know the sets are gorgeous and crafted beautifully down to every detail. Owing much to the craftspeople in Toronto where the film was partly shot and which operates as del Toro’s second home, Frankenstein feels like a culmination of all of del Toro’s work so far. For me, it’s simply the highest highlight of a Festival filled with highlights.
Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams isn’t really about monsters, and in fact is about quite the opposite and, like Frankenstein, is a highlight of TIFF for me. Based on the novel by Denis Johnson, It’s about a decent, unremarkably good but quiet man named Robert Grainger (Joel Edgerton) in the early part of 20th century America. We follow him from birth to death, through his childhood through a variety of working lives like railway construction, logging, and a kind of courier. He builds a family and experiences tragic loss, all against the stunning backdrop of the as-yet-unspoiled Pacific Northwest. Grainger’s story isn’t just the story of a man, but it’s an allegory for the growth of America, and what can be accomplished if we trust and lean on one another while also showing the consequences that befall us when we don’t. It sounds sappy but when set in places of such magnificent beauty and portraying a man who is steadfastly opposed to injustice and whose one moment of weakness in the face of such an injustice haunts him throughout his life, it’s a remarkable piece of work. Narrated by Will Patton and co-starring Felicity Jones and William H. Macy, each one shouldering the weight of a film that is both gratifying and demanding, Train Dreams was a beautiful surprise in a day full of monsters.
But then it was back to monsters, albeit beautiful ones. You might not think that a film like Yeon Sang-ho’s The Ugly would be so darned pretty even as it tells a chillingly cringe and, well, ugly story about toxicity in the workplace, bullying, and self-image, but it is. It’s a slowly – perhaps too slowly – unraveling family mystery where each pulled-back layer introduces palpable tension for the film’s big reveal. It’s built on the structure of five investigative interviews, in which the subjects and the questions evolve. The Ugly depicts a young man’s (Park Jeong-min) search for the truth about his mother with two interwoven stories of the family patriarch who successfully starts an artisan stamp business and the matriarch who is the subject of relentless marginalization and hate based solely on her appearance. It is relentless and vicious even if it rarely escalates beyond a raised voice. Sang-ho unravels the mystery in such a gradual fashion that some might find it frustrating, but he does get there, expertly turning up the tension as he introduces side characters whose allegiances and alignments change with each interview.
At its core, The Ugly is really about how people will find and pick at the tiniest, even non-existent aspects of a person in order to hate them. It’s a story, not unlike The Man In My Basement, that warns us of the darkness that can be unearthed in our family’s history, and why it’s still important to uncover it and to find our truth. Sang-ho’s story is a deeply tragic one, and a mystery that is worth seeing through even in its slower moments.
Today’s photo dump features an interesting analysis of story and adaptation from Guillermo del Toro at the Frankenstein screening, and some photos from the premieres of Train Dreams and The Ugly!
The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 4-14, 2025. Ticket and lineup information can be found at the TIFF website, and stay tuned to Biff Bam Pop for our coverage all week!
