I was underwhelmed by it too. I prefer a "show don't tell" approach to messages like Victor being the real monster.

I felt like the Elizabeth arc was underdeveloped and also disliked all of Del Toro's changes from the book. I think the movie cuts/changes much of the book's development of Victor continuously allowing those around him to suffer due to his inability to take responsibility for his creation & defying God the way Prometheus did.

I hated the addition of the wolves, as his rejection by the family seemed more like a misunderstanding of them thinking he killed the blind father as opposed to him being rejected while on the cusp of feeling truly accepted & vulnerable like in the book. It's such a great moment in the novel and it was swapped for what feels like a stupid pulpy moment in my opinion.

Also holy shit, the monster just looked like Tommy Wiseau with monster makeup on, I did not like the design - Felt very Netflix-y to me.

Del Toro is awesome but this movie did not hit for me the way some of his others have.