Frankenstein Reimagined: Jacob Elordi Brings a Haunting New Look to the Creature

Mary Shelley’s revolutionary Gothic novel Frankenstein, published in 1818, has become a timeless cultural icon, both on the page and on the screen. More than two centuries later, her creature continues to find new ways to come alive again, this time in the hands of Guillermo del Toro, whose new adaptation promises to bring new life into the reborn creature.

In the classic 1931 Universal film Frankenstein, directed by James Whale, the traditional depiction of Frankenstein’s monster was created. The monster with neck bolts, heavy brow, and (in colorised memory) green skin was played by Boris Karloff. This was the first time the monster appeared to look the way we know and think of Frankenstein. This iconic look was designed by Jack Pierce, so whilst Victor Frankenstein cinematically brought the monster to life, Jack Pierce brought the immortal pop culture look to life.

Jack Pierce’s Design Legacy

Since then, others have reimagined the look of Karloff’s monster while keeping to the established recognisable look of Frankenstein’s Monster. Some notable iconic portrayals include Bela Lugosi in 1943’s Frankenstein Meets the Wolf and Peter Boyle in 1974’s comedy Young Frankenstein. 

A New Look

However, others have dared to step out from Karloff’s shadow. Christopher Lee in the 1957 film The Curse of Frankenstein and Robert De Niro in the 1994 Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein abandoned the green skin and neck bolts entirely. Instead, he looked more like Shelley probably intended, a man painfully stitched together from dead flesh, tragic and terrifying in equal measure.

The Monster Evolves Again

This year, Guillermo del Toro has taken on adapting the Gothic classic, and from the trailer, it is clear staying far away from the caricature and cartoonish monster look of the 1930s. Jacob Elordi is our new Creature, and in the most recent trailer, we get our first real look at him.

The film’s costumes are designed by Kate Hawley, who has previously designed for 2015’s Crimson Peak. The Creature’s look screams surgical precision, and the design appears as though the body’s been turning inside out. The prosthetics are intense, but Elordi’s sharp cheekbones still manage to shine through. Expect to see him haunting your For You page as the fan-edits start rolling in.  

At 6’5”, Elordi’s natural height adds a towering, looming nightmare look to the monster, but del Toro’s take seems not just about the horror, as there is almost something tender in the design, particularly through Elordi’s emotive eyes. Del Toro has revealed in numerous interviews that the reason Elordi got the role was because of the humanity in his eyes. It sounds like del Toro has made something deeply emotional—a monster just wants to be seen, to be human. The tagline, “Only Monsters Play God,” says it all. Simply, the story of Pinocchio with an edge, where Geppetto has a God complex.

The character look of the 1930s is long gone; Elordi’s Frankenstein looks like he is going to play a perfectly gory monster with an edge of empathy—monstrous but somehow gorgeous. I mean, it’s still Elordi under there; those cinematic cheekbones could survive any monstrous transformation.