“I couldn’t have asked for better make-up. You can really see the human being in it, but it’s also so shockingly beautiful,” Jacob Elordi, who plays the Creature in del Toro’s film, tells Empire. While Mary Shelley’s description of Frankenstein’s creation was always somewhat vague, there was always an element of beauty amid the horror. Donning the prosthetics every day became an important part of Elordi’s character work. “On our first phone call, Guillermo said, ‘It’s not a make-up process, it’s not hours in the chair. It’s your time to pass over into the creature,’” explains the actor. “And I took that really seriously.”
For the filmmaker, making Frankenstein has been a hugely personal affair – not just for his longstanding obsession with the source material. “My own journey, as a human being, is of a prodigal father,” del Toro explains. “Film is a very jealous profession with personal life. It takes you away, and it takes a toll. That toll weighed heavily on me as a human being, and I wanted to make the movie about that.” As such, he sees him reflected in various elements of the story. “It’s about seeing yourself as both a father and a son,” he says. “I am a little bit of Victor. I’m a little bit of the Creature.” We’re in for a Gothic treat.
Click here to preview your posts with PRO themes ››