Using Frankenstein film to promote Scotland - News

Scotland on screen

We have enjoyed another busy year for film and TV productions with strong links to Scotland.

The latest is Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic tale of Victor Frankenstein, now available to watch on Netflix.

This gives us more opportunities to promote Scotland as a "set-jetting" destination, using that profile to help us grow the value of the visitor economy.

One in five visitors (19%) said that film, TV, or literature was a source of inspiration for their trip to Scotland. This rose to 36% for European visitors and 37% for long haul visitors.*

*Scotland Visitor Survey 2023

Guillermo del Toro and Oscar Isaac on the set of Frankenstein in Edinburgh. Credit: Netflix

The Wallace Monument was a very strong design influence for the look of our Abandoned Water Tower, which transforms into Victor’s Frankenstein’s cliffside laboratory.

Guillermo, our concept artist Guy Davis, and I visited the Monument on our first location scout in Scotland in April 2023.

We used the overall silhouette, the textures of the stone, the arched architecture, and, particularly, the turreted top in the design of our Frankenstein Tower.

Like so much of Scotland, our first view of the Wallace Monument, rising on a high point in the mist over the countryside, was both breath-taking and extraordinarily inspirational!

Production Designer, Tamara Deverel

Opportunities to promote Scotland

We’ve created some new content on visitscotland.com on the locations and provided businesses and stakeholders with activity ideas.

Read about Netflix's Frankenstein on visitscotland.com.

We’ve supported a range of media visits and articles, including The Wall Street Journal, Time Out and five media from leading US titles, who travelled on a press trip as part of VisitBritain’s Starring Great Britain film and TV campaign.

Discover how Scotland inspired Frankenstein on wsj.com.

We have also worked on a gothic Edinburgh story for Italian Vanity Fair magazine. There’s an article which we supported BBC Scotland with on other Scottish connections to Frankenstein.

Guillermo del Toro on the set of Frankenstein in East Lothian. Credit: Netflix

The release of Frankenstein is another fantastic addition to Scotland’s set-jetting locations.

With our country’s gothic architecture, historic buildings, atmospheric streets, and striking landmarks, there’s plenty to inspire film makers, as well as producers, artists, and even visitors.

Our hope is that this new release will encourage fans to find out more and explore Scotland’s links with Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, and Mary Shelley’s classic novel, for themselves.

VisitScotland’s Film and Creative Industries Manager, Jenni Steele