Jacob Elordi’s Frankenstein scene marks a critical moment in Guillermo del Toro’s latest adaptation of the classic tale, released in 2024. Set deep within the Gothic confines of Victor Frankenstein’s castle, this scene blends visual artistry, nuanced performance, and haunting atmosphere, capturing the essence of the Creature’s tragic existence and yearning for acceptance.
The scene unfolds when Elizabeth Lavenza, portrayed by Mia Goth, discovers the Creature secretly confined in the castle’s dungeon. Despite Victor Frankenstein’s shame and rejection of his creation, Elizabeth recognizes the Creature’s vulnerability and longing for connection, setting the emotional tone that defines their interaction.
Artistic Symbolism: The Recurring Circle Motif in Frankenstein’s World
Set designer Tamara Deverell weaves a deliberate circular motif throughout the film to symbolize endless cycles and confinement. This theme is visible in key locations such as the laboratory’s large circular window, the captain’s quarters, and notably, the medical lecture theater where a circular set frames the action. Even the Creature’s prison cell reflects this pattern, featuring large circular intake and outtake pipes and rounded ceiling details.
Deverell explains,
“We have a circle motif that’s used throughout Frankenstein. You see it in the lab, the big lab window. You see it in the captain’s quarters. You see it at the very beginning, in the circular set we did for the medical lecture theater. These repeated circles are also in the cell, with these big intake and outtake pipes and the circles in the ceiling. Even the circular image of the bonnets [in Mia’s costume], the bow came up to just create the window of her face. The circle theme is life going places and never getting out of the circle, and the creature breaks that circle.”
Tamara Deverell, Set Designer
Guillermo del Toro on the Creature’s Gesture of Removing Elizabeth’s Veil
One of the scene’s most intimate moments occurs when Jacob Elordi’s Creature gently lifts Elizabeth’s veil, symbolizing a revealing of truth and vulnerability. This brief yet powerful act serves as the Creature’s sole unmasking to another character within the entire film, a deliberate decision underscoring the significance of human connection.
Del Toro describes the moment:
“Jacob trying to lift the veil and then liberating her — Mia and I talked, and I said, ‘This is the first time and only time you reveal yourself to anyone in the film,’”
the director says.
“We did do that pointedly. This is my favorite dress in the whole movie. The two strips of purple that slide there, it’s very subtle, but you [Goth] are the only character that has purple other than the Creature in the entire film. I think we have a hint of purple in a dress that crosses the street when Victor is thinking about the Creature, but you’re the only character — that makes you guys connect.”
Guillermo del Toro, Director
Mia Goth Describes the Unique Challenge of Filming with Jacob Elordi
Actress Mia Goth reveals that the authenticity of their interaction came from genuine unpreparedness, allowing the moment’s spontaneity to unfold naturally. This choice emphasizes the unpredictable, raw emotional exchange between Elizabeth and the Creature.
Goth explains,
“We didn’t even rehearse this because you could never mimic that again, or if you did, then it becomes something else,”
she states.
“Sometimes, Guillermo might ask me to do something again [and] I really would have no recollection that it happened.”
Mia Goth, Actress
The Musical Score: Alexandre Desplat’s Use of Violin and Silence Capturing Emotional Fragility
Composer Alexandre Desplat crafted a restrained violin score designed to subtly articulate the nuanced bond developing between Elizabeth and the Creature. The music reflects both Elizabeth’s curiosity and the Creature’s vulnerability, avoiding overt romanticism to maintain purity and delicacy.
Desplat shares,
“There’s several things that this violin is telling us. It’s the attraction that Elizabeth has for the Creature, but it’s also the fragility of the Creature. It’s like an invisible little arch that slowly but surely brings them together. Many violinists, they play with very romantic expression, and I didn’t want that because there’s enough on the screen. I wanted it to be pure, delicate, and able to be restrained … When the veil is lifted, she is illuminated by the soul of the Creature. That’s how the music conveys that, expands it. This moment is a ballet. There’s no dialogue. It’s really a ballet; it could be on stage.”
Alexandre Desplat, Composer
Crafting the Creature: Mike Hill on the Detailed Prosthetic Makeup
Makeup artist Mike Hill designed the Creature’s appearance to harmonize with Mary Shelley’s original description while adding layered visual meaning. The prosthetics included subtle yellowish skin tones, bluish-gray patches, and carefully chosen facial details that contribute to the Creature’s distinctive but hauntingly aesthetic look.
Hill states,
“I made him kind of a yellow skull, and that was to reflect Mary Shelley’s description of the creature having yellow skin. I did a section of skin that’s kind of a bluish-gray that bleeds onto his cheeks; that’s actually a homage to the original Frankenstein with Boris Karloff. Although the movie was black and white, Jack Pierce, the makeup artist, painted him sky gray. The reason I put that bump on his nose [is because] it lengthens and matures his face up. Black lips — again, it’s all to do with an allure of having dark lips, and Mary Shelley wrote about it. But also, he’s wearing dentures. They’re not ugly teeth, and they’re not monstrous teeth — they’re just bigger teeth, because sometimes with a character like this, human teeth can get lost.”
Mike Hill, Makeup Artist
He continues,
“Guillermo didn’t want heavy stitching. He didn’t want garish wounds because Victor, certainly in Guillermo’s script, Guillermo saw him as a rock star. He saw him as a David Bowie. Well, if David Bowie made a Frankenstein creature, he would make something aesthetically beautiful in its weirdness. I wanted him to almost resemble a stained window that got broken. I figured that Victor would have used these stained pieces of flesh, different colors, in order for him to put the man back together. He’s almost graphing it out for himself. What I’d like to point out is the heart there. We got rid of the heart on the Creature right there. So, this literally has a window to the soul right here on where the heart is.”
Mike Hill, Makeup Artist
Design Inspiration: Kate Hawley Shares Elizabeth’s Beetle-Inspired Costume
Costume designer Kate Hawley took inspiration from natural textures and microscopic structures to create Elizabeth’s unique wardrobe, aligning with Guillermo del Toro’s vision of her as a “beetle” figure. The color palette and intricate details reflect this concept through an unusual yet fitting combination of hues and patterns.
Hawley explains,
“We were looking at all the precious books that Guillermo had for Elizabeth’s world, with all those patterns and structures from blood cells, and he talked about her being like a beetle: ‘I want a beetle.’ So this is your beetle. We have an absinthe-colored veil. We have the knit bonnet with the purple halo of flowers behind her. And as we go down through the dress, we have a duchess silk satin in an acid green that was specially chosen as the color because of the lighting … [which] took on a whole kind of radioactive color — part of the wonderful language of the insect.”
Kate Hawley, Costume Designer
Visual Storytelling: Cinematographer Dan Lausten on Using Light as a Narrative Tool
Cinematographer Dan Lausten highlights how deliberate light placement enhances the mood of the dungeon scene, emphasizing subtle color tones that complement the characters’ emotional states. The lighting refrains from warm romantic hues, instead opting for a nuanced approach that accentuates the Creature’s complexity beneath the prosthetics.
Lausten states,
“All the colors are so sensitive. You could easily make her lights very warm because you want to do it romantic, but we think it’s blending so nice into the skin tone. You see her red lips, but it’s not really red. It’s a kind of monochromatic, but it’s not monochromatic at all … You want to paint with a light and write with a camera, because that light is coming from one small spot. That’s the reason it’s falling so much, and so beautiful. It’s bouncing into the chest and bouncing up to his face. It’s pretty nice. I think he’s under all of that prosthetic, but I think it’s a real testament to Mike Hill and also to Jacob’s performance.”
Dan Lausten, Cinematographer
The Power of Silence and a Single Line: ‘Who Hurt You?’
The exchange between Elizabeth and the Creature is marked by a single poignant line that carries significant weight. This moment was inspired by Oscar Wilde’s story The Selfish Giant and relies heavily on silence and visual cues to convey emotional depth.
Guillermo del Toro observes,
“It came from an Oscar Wilde story, The Selfish Giant, where the Giant sees Jesus, Baby Jesus, and sees that he has wounds, and he says, Who hurt you?”
Mia Goth reflects on the challenge,
“Whenever you have just one line, I find that to be the most difficult to deliver in a natural, believable way.”
Alexandre Desplat comments on the musical ambiance at this moment,
“We had [let] the silence slowly take over. I really wanted the music to stop there so that we feel the vibration between them.”
This pivotal scene exemplifies how the Jacob Elordi Frankenstein scene integrates powerful performances, creative design, and a haunting score to reimagine Mary Shelley’s timeless creation. Released simultaneously in select theaters and on Netflix, it invites viewers to witness an emotionally charged portrayal that blends horror with empathy, promising to leave a lasting impression on audiences and influence future gothic storytelling.
