Naked Oscar Isaac Doing Science in Netflix’s ‘Frankenstein’ Is Exactly What We Needed

Oscar Isaac’s nude scene in Frankenstein 2025 is early Christmas gift from Guillermo del Toro to the world. The Oscar-winning filmmaker clearly knew we could all use some cheer. He delivered said cheer in spades, by writing and directing a scene where his lead—the very beautiful Oscar Isaac—performs a mad science experiment completely naked. I’m no scientist, but that’s surely against lab protocol.

Written and directed by Del Toro, based on Mary Shelley iconic 1818 novel, the 2025 Frankenstein stars Oscar Isaac as Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant, eccentric scientist obsessed with defeating death by playing God, and creating life. A wealthy benefactor (Christoph Waltz), provides Victor with all the funding he needs to pursue this mad dream. Victor works for months, but can’t figure out how to reanimate a full corpse. Until, one day, the solution comes to him. And like all great “Eureka!” moments, it happens in the bath.

Having just had his romantic advances to his soon-to-be sister-in-law (Mia Goth) rejected, Victor sinks into a steaming bath for a good ol’ fashion sulk-n-soak.

But right when he’s working up a good wallow, an idea comes to Victor. He springs out of the bathtub and scurries to the mirror. His revelation has something to do with spines and symmetry and lymphoid systems. It’s not really that important. (Reanimating corpses isn’t real!) What is important—and very real—is Isaac’s toned, bronze body.

We get a very nice view of Isaac’s shoulder muscles, shimmering with water from the bath, as he strains to look at his bath in the mirror. When he turns to the table that holds his macabre experiment—a stitched-together corpse that will become the Creature—we get a cute little flash of bush. When he stomps over to the table to execute his great idea, he flashes his bare butt to the camera. And what a nice butt it is.

Now comes my favorite part of the scene: Victor starts fiddling with the wires and needles in his little science experiment, while still in his birthday suit. Naked science for the win. And eureka, it works!

The Creature, briefly, jolts to life and lets out a terrible roar. Victor has the good sense to step back, considering there is nothing but air separating his most sensitive body parts from this roaring monster.

Call this a gratuitous nude scene if you must. (Or if you’re boring.) But I’d argue doing Naked Science actually makes perfect sense for Victor Frankenstein. He’s an impulsive, egotistical, mad genius. Of course he’s not going to bother to put on clothes when inspiration strikes! Of course he’s not going to feel self-conscious in the slightest! Especially not when he looks that good.

Del Toro fans know that the filmmaker isn’t afraid to sprinkle some sex on his monster love stories. While Isaac’s glistening body isn’t quite as explicit as the fish fornication in The Shape of Water, it’s just enough skin to spark your attention after the film’s slow start. It’s kind of the perfect gift. I just feel bad I didn’t get del Toro anything.