Guillermo del Toro’s long-anticipated adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is finally available on Netflix, offering a fresh version of the classic tale. Instead of portraying the creature as a monster, del Toro emphasizes the character’s emotional and human aspects, a vision that heavily influenced the prosthetics work created for Jacob Elordi’s role as the Creature.
Designing a Creature That Blends Humanity and Horror
Prosthetics artist Mike Hill aimed to avoid the typical monster tropes when crafting the Creature’s appearance.
“We wanted to stay away from classical zombies or anything like that,”
Hill told Variety. In this film, Oscar Isaac plays Victor Frankenstein, the determined scientist who believes he can overcome death by assembling the Creature from parts of deceased bodies.
Hill explained how a key scene involves Frankenstein presenting his early creation at the Royal College of Medicinal Tribunal, showcasing a body joined together with sophisticated technique rather than obvious stitching.
“It shows the technique that he developed, rather than having garish stitching, and the way he almost melded this creature together. So it really is a precursor to the final character,”
Hill said.
Maintaining Practical Effects to Preserve Authenticity
Hill emphasized the importance of using practical prosthetics instead of relying heavily on visual effects, especially considering the story’s period setting.
“With this tale and its period setting, if you go too VFX, you’ve destroyed the illusion. This had to be practical and real.”
One notable design features the Creature bent over with an exposed spinal cord in Frankenstein’s lab. Hill explained the choice behind this unsettling posture:
“We didn’t want the standard corpse that just lay down and sprawled out flat. We wanted to give it a little bit more impact as this body’s folded over, which gives it a more of a dead feel. It’s a little bit more intrusive to the human body to be bent in this position and being opened up at the spine. And I think that we react to that.”
In-Depth Study of the Human Form for Realistic Prosthetics
Having dedicated much of his career to understanding human anatomy, Hill took his research even further for this project.
“I had to go even deeper, and he does go on the inside and not the outside,”
Hill reflected.
The Creature’s body is meant to be assembled from parts found on a nearby battlefield, requiring the prosthetics to convey stitched-together segments with varying skin tones that reflect its unnatural construction. Despite the extensive makeup, preserving Jacob Elordi’s eyes was a priority.
“We didn’t want to put zombie sockets on his eyes. And actually, Guillermo taught me that trick. He said, ‘If you make the face too garish, then people are focusing here and here, and we need to focus here,’”
Hill shared. Although Elordi wore a brown contact lens to enlarge one eye, most of his natural expression was maintained.
Transforming Jacob Elordi Through Subtle Prosthetics
Hill described the prosthetics as covering almost Elordi’s entire face.
“The only parts that are Jacob are the tip of the nose, the upper lip and his chin. The rest is all rubber prosthetics and a new sculpted brow.”
At 26 during filming, Elordi’s features were subtly aged and strengthened to suit the Creature’s character.
“I wanted to subtly mature Jacob a little bit, so I gave him a stronger nose and obviously a stronger brow. Stronger brows are always associated with the Frankenstein creature. But I didn’t want to go heavy monster. This is a creature. Frankenstein is building a man and not a monster. So very subtle, but it still gives us that. That brow that is imposing.”
Endurance and Commitment to the Role
The process of applying the full-body prosthetics was repeated roughly 20 times throughout filming. Hill praised Elordi’s patience and professionalism, noting,
“the full body probably about 20 times. But he never complained once.”
He added that Elordi used the time in makeup to fully embody the Creature, stating,
“He used it as his time to become the creature, to become the character.”
The Impact of Authentic Practical Effects on Storytelling
Hill’s dedication to realism and practical makeup effects played a crucial role in bringing del Toro’s empathetic vision of Frankenstein’s Creature to life. By focusing on subtle details and avoiding exaggerated monster features, the team succeeded in portraying a character filled with depth and humanity rather than fear alone. This approach strengthens the film’s emotional weight and could inspire future adaptations to balance horror with humanity through practical effects.
