Guillermo del Toro has revealed he experienced “postpartum depression and celebration” after wrapping Frankenstein.

The filmmaker had wanted to make the movie for decades and previously described adapting the gothic tale as his dream project. At the film’s Los Angeles premiere on Monday, del Toro told The Hollywood Reporter that he was hit by a range of emotions after the movie was completed.

When asked how it felt to finish work on the passion project, del Toro revealed: “It’s postpartum depression and celebration at the same time.”

The new gothic science fiction film was also written by del Toro and based on Mary Shelley’s iconic 1818 novel of the same name.

As del Toro continued to discuss Frankenstein, he likened the experience to an elevator dropping.

The filmmaker continued, “And it’s because when the horizon shifts that brutally – like if you dreamed to make the team or dreamed about graduating or whatever and then you do it and you go, ‘ah!,’ like the elevator dropped – so that’s the one thing; the other one is the joy of having achieved.”

Frankenstein stars Jacob Elordi, who transformed into The Creature for the role.

As Elordi attended the Los Angeles premiere, he was asked about his approach to playing the iconic character.

The star insisted that while he gave everything to the project, he ensured the experience remained a positive one for cast and crew.

Elordi explained: “There’s a certain point once the prosthetics go on where they kind of demand that you are The Creature and there’s a level of focus that needs to come to the role…. It wasn’t like this idea everyone has of being Method, which is tortured and suffering and everyone else suffers so you can get a performance. It was a little different to that.”

Elordi also praised del Toro for creating a “safe space” on set as he recalled feeling “creatively very liberated”.

Frankenstein, also starring Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth, has a limited cinema release from 17th October and will be available on Netflix from 7th November.

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