More than two centuries ago, the 18-year-old Mary Shelley began writing a novel called Frankenstein, which she published anonymously two years later. Her story of a brilliant scientist with an ambition to play God and his monstrous experiment remains as relevant today as it did in 1818, and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro’s cinematic adaptation is a vivid rendering of the totemic tale. Here’s a closer look at 10 of the objects that linger through the epic drama Frankenstein. 

Electrifying chest piece and creation helmet

Ingenious yet tormented, Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) is driven by an intent to defy death. A striking chest piece and creation helmet made out of silver and wired to electrify adorn the body of the Creature (Jacob Elordi) as Victor completes his biggest experiment: bringing life to the lifeless. 

Letter flashcards 

After fleeing Victor’s lab, the Creature ventures through the woods before stumbling upon a family and their farm. He hides in their mill, making an effort not to be seen, as he watches and studies them. As a blind man (David Bradley) uses these cards with letters and symbols to educate his grandchild on the alphabet, the Creature’s own vocabulary gets stronger. 

Leg brace 

When he realizes the power of his creation, Victor seeks to destroy it, setting the entire lab on fire. As he flees the burning structure, he hears the Creature calling his name and has a momentary change of heart as he attempts to reenter his once-promising workspace. But the combustible power that has been building inside explodes before Victor can get in, destroying his leg and requiring him to wear a prosthetic leg brace for the rest of the film. 

Family ring 

The men of the Frankenstein family share a complex dynamic shaped by the death of their matriarch (Mia Goth). Despite his resentment of his father (Charles Dance), Victor can be seen sporting the same ornate ring that the elder Frankenstein wears throughout his childhood. 

Sketches 

After being shunned by the academic establishment for his unprecedented methods, Victor receives resources from the mercurial Harlander (Christoph Waltz) that allow him to finally play God: his notebook of sketches, which contain all his epic scientific aspirations, from intricate machinery to creating a man out of forged body parts. 

Surgical glasses  

Victor’s safety gear might seem more at home at a rock concert than at the helm of an operating table. “Guillermo and I talked a lot about approaching Victor like a musician, like a rock star,” Isaac says. “He’s not the scientist — we’ve seen that a lot. He’s a misunderstood artist, and that fuels him to provoke. That punk rock energy was an important thing. When Victor walks into the lab for the first time, he’s imagining it like a stage, not as a lab. That was a really unexpected way to hook into the guy.”

Dark angel 

Grief at the loss of his beloved mother isn’t the only thing Victor carries into adulthood: a statue of a double-winged angel that stood tall in his childhood manor ultimately finds a home in his sleeping chamber in the laboratory he creates inside an old water tower. “Guillermo actually painted the face himself because he’s a very good artist,” explains production designer Tamara Deverell of the figure. In moments of mania, the angel comes to life in Victor’s nightmares, set ablaze.  

Elizabeth’s fan 

The empathetic and luminous Elizabeth, also played by Mia Goth in a dual role, brings some much much-needed lightness into Victor’s world. Costume designer Kate Hawley favored a brighter color palette of blues and greens for her character, inspired by beetles. “Guillermo wanted Elizabeth to be very ethereal, and there’s an iridescence and ephemeral nature to some of those colors and fabrics that helped us,” says Hawley. 

Victor’s backpack 

After losing all that matters to him, Victor traverses the Arctic to find the Creature and destroy him once and for all with his frost-tinged belongings. “Guillermo talked about white being a really important color and how it represents death,” says Hawley. “When we’re talking about the Arctic, it’s almost like a limbo. It’s almost that place between heaven and hell.”

This feature originally appeared in Issue 22 of Tudum Magazine.