Fans of Guillermo del Toro know the director is a fan of using practical effects and sets whenever possible. Frankenstein marks the third feature film collaboration for del Toro and creature designer, sculptor, and FX artist Mike Hill. Del Toro is the number one collector of Mike Hill’s sculptures; the impressive curated collection in the director’s home rivals many museums. In fact, his personal collection has previously been on display for the public to enjoy in the Guillermo del Toro: At Home With Monsters exhibition.
The director followed suit for his latest film, Frankenstein, with the limited exhibition Frankenstein: Crafting A Tale Eternal featuring screen-used props and costumes, including many pieces by Frankenstein creature designer Mike Hill. We recently had a chance to visit Crafting A Tale Eternal during its short run in Los Angeles and chat with one of our favorite monster makers, Mike Hill.
Actually, make that Academy Award-nominated Mike Hill. With this morning's official Oscar nominees announcement, we learned that Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, and Cliona Furey have been nominated in the Makeup and Hairstyling category for their incredible work on Frankenstein. Congratulations to the whole team!
During one particularly memorable scene in Frankenstein, Victor demonstrates his ability to reanimate the dead by using a half corpse on display for his classmates. It is quite the spectacle. The corpse writhes in agony as classmates look on in collective horror, awe, and disbelief. The scene is absolute chaos as the instructors from Victor’s school demand that he terminate the experiment. All the while, the reanimated corpse thrashes about painfully, tethered to a board. The scene is quite disturbing if you empathise with the corpse, and that’s in no small part due to its incredibly detailed design.
The half corpse was designed and constructed as a puppet to be operated by multiple puppeteers. “Guillermo was pretty adamant about it being a puppet,” Hill shared. “Of course, I welcome the opportunity to be able to create a puppet for a movie. A nice half corpse is very reminiscent of a lot of movies we've seen. The head of that corpse was based on an old wax that Guillermo had seen in a museum he really loved, and he sent me that picture. I just kind of made it slightly more realistic and more proportioned at the face, but it was really based on a wax from, I guess, the 1800s.”
The screen used half corpse on display for the exhibition was equally impressive in person as it was coming to life on the screen. “Guy Davis, one of the concept designers, did the original design and I just said, ‘Hey Guy, can you take some away so it's even less of a body? It's more disturbing if it's just a diagonal with no arm, just his guts hanging out, and his head.’ So we altered it to that, and that was it. It was a puppet with about five puppeteers. One was the hand, with the puppet's actual arm attached to his wrist. We talked about doing a mechanical hand, but it's so much work and so difficult to pull off. We had Guy, a Jim Henson puppeteer, inside the head. He was fantastic at doing the head movements. Then we had radio operators for things like expressions, the jaw, the beating heart, and stuff like that.”
In total, Frankenstein is nominated for 9 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Production Design, and Sound, as well as nominations for Jacob Elordi (Actor In A Supporting Role), Dan Laustsen (Cinematography), Kate Hawley (Costume Design), and Alexandre Desplat (Original Score). Congratulations to Mike Hill, Guillermo del Toro, and the entire Frankenstein team.
For more from our conversation with Mike Hill, read the full interview right here. Frankenstein is streaming on Netflix and playing in select theaters. As of this writing, there has been no official announcement to extend the Frankenstein: Crafting A Tale Eternal exhibit, but due to its wild success (and confirmed Oscar nominee status!), we’re hoping Netflix announces extended dates and additional cities so more fans have the opportunity to admire these creations up close.
For more Frankenstein, check out FANGORIA Presents: Frankenstein, a special edition magazine featuring exclusive interviews with Guillermo del Toro, Mike Hill, and more. The book also takes a deep dive into the history of Mary Shelley’s creation and the various iterations that have been brought to life inspired by her original novel.
