Wilton House, a popular filming location for shows like Bridgerton and The Crown, is best known for its elaborate staircase, which became a visual focus in Frankenstein. Overall, the family home had a very specific color palette. “The textures and colors of the family villa, which came out of the locations, which were dark wood floors and green walls and marble and stone,” Deverell says. “Victor’s mother has the signifying color of red, and her red bed moves with Victor through the story to several locations.”
Edinburgh, Scotland
Shelley’s original novel takes place in part in Edinburgh, so it was important to set some of the film in the Scottish capital. They used Parliament Square itself for Parliament Square, where the market was actually located in the 1800s; and the Writer’s Close and Bakehouse Close, two narrow alleyways with a historic feel. “Old Edinburgh exuded that Gothic, wet cobblestone look we wanted,” Deverell says. “It’s a great treasure of a city, almost 360 degrees of historic buildings. We shot right on the Royal Mile. It was crazy. We were working around all of the tourists.”
While in Scotland, the production also traveled to Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Arbroath. Arbroath’s Hospitalfield House, an artist residence, stood in for Henrich Harlander’s house. “We had to build his bathroom because there’s no such thing as a period bathroom as big as what we wanted,” Deverell says. “But that was interesting for me because I was able to draw from all the existing architecture.”
Deverell had hoped to find a real circular operating theater for the scene where Victor presents his discoveries, but it was too difficult to find something historic. She ended up using London’s Old Operating Theatre and Berlin’s Veterinary School’s Anatomical Theatre as references, and based their set build on Glasgow City Hall’s real-life structure. “We originally had a scene in the hallway outside on location, which eventually was dropped,” she says. “It was the biggest source of inspiration though, and we used a lot of the motifs, mosaics, and details that I saw in the Glasgow City Hall.”
Frankenstein’s Laboratory
The Wallace Tower in Ayr, Scotland, was a strong reference for Victor’s laboratory, which was primarily built in Pinewood Toronto. The base of the tower was built at the Markham Agricultural Fairgrounds outside of Toronto (a location also used for del Toro’s Nightmare Alley). It stood nearly 180 feet high, while the interiors were created across eight different sets. It was extremely intricate and required full blueprints, 3D-modeling, technical drawings and an 11-foot “miniature” replica. Del Toro was very specific about the aesthetic of the tower.