Frankenstein’s Laboratory: From 1931 to Guillermo del Toro

Who actually invented the Frankenstein laboratory we all recognize?

Mary Shelley gave Victor Frankenstein a workspace—but Hollywood gave us the stone walls, operating table, massive electrical machines, lightning and strange scientific equipment that became synonymous with Frankenstein.

Kim Wannop traces 95 years of Frankenstein production design, beginning with James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931), moving through Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein (1974), Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025), and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! (2026).

Discover why Young Frankenstein used original laboratory equipment created for the 1931 film, how Oscar-winning Production Designer Tamara Deverell and Set Decorator Shane Vieau transformed Victor Frankenstein’s laboratory into a monumental water tower, and how each generation of filmmakers has reinvented the same visual idea.

A deep dive into Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro, production design, set decoration, horror movie sets, Young Frankenstein, classic Universal horror and the design history behind one of cinema’s most recognizable environments.