As Viktor Frankenstein (Kenneth Branagh) is dying he shares a tale of gruesome terror with a sea captain. Viktor, using previous experiments by a brilliant scientist, was able to bring a creature (Robert De Niro) assembled from body parts back to life. Once he realized how destructive his experiments had become, he abandoned the creature and tried to live a normal life with his fiance (Helena Bonham Carter). The lonely creature seeks out Viktor and demands one of two things: a bride or revenge.