“This is a work of fantasy but to fantasize is to be human.” This quote is placed at the beginning of Creature, a passion project brought to life by writer-director Cagan Irmak, now available on Netflix. Inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Irmak reimagines the monster resurrection concept without sticking to closely to the original plot points, crafting a narrative that jumps back and forth between two separate timelines – the past, with Ziya’s rise in medical experimentation, and the present, with the titular creature rescuing a dying man. It makes for a historical drama that may not be as horrific as the original, but is no less intriguing in its themes.

While inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Cagan Irmak’s Creature doesn’t feel like a terrifying horror series. Granted, the original concept of the modern Prometheus leans more towards science fiction, but this show doesn’t even feel like it can be classified as part of that futuristic genre. Instead, the limited series feels more like a period drama with its updated setting. Replacing the setting of Ingolstadt in the early 1800s is Istanbul a century later, on the last legs of the Ottoman Empire. In doing so, Cagan Irmak interweaves thematic threads of the original novel, such as defying nature, reckoning with a creator, and life and death, with the overall worries and concerns Istanbul had at the turn of the century. It makes for an intriguing drama, especially with the revelation of who the titular creature used to be.