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somnomania.bsky.social
somnomania 🏳️‍🌈🇵🇸🇺🇦
@somnomania.bsky.social
63 followers 270 following 420 posts
somnomania.carrd.co | she/her | disabled & chronically ill | queer

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somnomania.bsky.social
60. Noticed this statue in Harlander's memento mori setup; it's a maiden, mother, and crone statue, figures that appear in many religions but primarily in Celtic paganism. It's fitting for that context, as it illustrates the cycle of life.
Two faces of a triple goddess (maiden, mother, and crone) statue, as seen in Harlander's photography setup.
November 27, 2025 at 3:32 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
59. The accompanying documentary talks a great deal about Elizabeth's visual motifs, which are nearly all natural in origin; insects, gemstones, cell structures and x-rays. Her necklace and bracelet in this first appearance are actually small carved beetles! Alt text has a link with more info.
A close-up of Elizabeth's beetle choker, worn as part of the first outfit she appears in. While slightly ahead of her time, the Victorian era saw a surge in insect motifs in jewelry, fueled in part by Queen Victoria's interest in the natural world. https://www.jewelrycarats.com/history-of-insect-jewelry/#Victorian_Era
November 27, 2025 at 3:26 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
58. Real talk, though, it's all well and good for us all to be fans of GDT's imagery and how cool stuff looks and seems, but this scenario, of this partial human being animated by two small batteries (and whatever the other thing is), at that point in time, would be HORRIFYING.
Like, imagine yourself, you're a man of learning, here to study medicine as it existed in the mid-1800s, and this guy comes in here, plugs these two batteries in, and this upper torso with exposed organs and spine + arm + head and neck with exposed brain just comes to life and can (sort of) breathe and catch a ball and drop it on command? Terrifying. An atrocity, an abomination, even if one wasn't religious. Victor's lucky there wasn't a panicked stampede out of the building. When Mary Shelley wrote the novel in 1818, there's a reason the concept of what Frankenstein did was so effectively scary to so many people, all the way through to the Boris Karloff film and later adaptations. It goes against what we fundamentally know about life and how it works. And people in real life, at the time the novel was written and through to the present day, have attempted to resurrect a corpse, with middling success. Atlas Obscura has an excellent piece on this (https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-real-electric-frankenstein-experiments-of-the-1800s) as does another site I found (https://www.maloriesadventures.com/blog/meet-the-real-dr-frankenstein-the-surgeon-who-tried-to-bring-the-dead-back-to-life).
November 27, 2025 at 1:53 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
57. Without actual knowledge, the thing by the battery seems to be a small reciprocating engine (per a reverse image search). I don't know what purpose that would have in this context, but perhaps something to do with moving the electrical current through the experiment.
November 27, 2025 at 12:50 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
56. Genuinely do not know how many times the creature might have died and revived in a row, to get this far from the ship and to a place where he stood any chance of breaking through the ice. Alt text on the second image.
The creature's hands, having broken through the thick ice. The creature, having broken through the ice, now wet and cold and some 1-3 miles out from the ship. Drowning aside, survival in such frigid water would be under 15 minutes the first time, and then (if considering how a human would be affected, even though he is much more than a human) even less with each revival, as there would be perhaps an hour or more between each one as his body dies and then regenerates in whatever way it can. Given that he DOES die, it wouldn't have just been a matter of walking along the bottom until he found a place to reach the surface; I imagine between deaths he was likely drifting on currents.
November 27, 2025 at 12:01 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
55. If I'm not mistaken, it looks as if the bag that one of the footmen was holding for Leopold is the same as the one we see Victor with a few times. I wouldn't think he would want anything of his father's, but maybe it's a psychological thing, claiming it as part of trying to be better than him.
Some footmen in a line at the estate. The screenshot focuses on one who has Leopold's surgeon's bag over his shoulder. The same bag, opened on a table at Victor's presentation. And again, the same bag over Victor's shoulder at the cathedral.
November 26, 2025 at 11:23 PM
somnomania.bsky.social
54. I was ready to learn that the bright red Claire favors would have been unheard of in that time, but apparently it is not! For the most part I won't be remarking on plausibility or fact-checking regarding fashion in this, as it's largely not meant to be accurate period dress.
Claire, Victor, and the servants present themselves for Leopold's return home. Those interested in just how period-appropriate Claire's love of red is should go here: https://www.mimimatthews.com/2016/09/26/shades-of-victorian-fashion-crimson-claret-scarlet-and-red/
November 26, 2025 at 11:15 PM
somnomania.bsky.social
53. I'm starting a new watch-through, so things will be a bit out of order. Laudanum, for those unfamiliar (though anyone who's played Amnesia knows about it) is a tincture containing about 10% powdered opium dissolved in alcohol. During the 1800s it was used for many things, but mainly pain relief.
Dr. Udsen, holding a small glass bottle of laudanum out for Victor to take. The Wikipedia page for laudanum mentions under the section for appearances in fiction as being used in the original novel Frankenstein, with Victor relying on it as his only means of sleeping while recovering from months of fever and trauma.
November 26, 2025 at 11:06 PM
somnomania.bsky.social
52. According to Wikipedia, public executions in Europe were much less common after 1700, but did experience resurgences during times of unrest, which I believe a war counts as. It also mentions that anatomists found them quite useful for the exact reason Victor does—fresh bodies to work with!
November 22, 2025 at 8:15 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
51. The tower is described as being at "a lake near Vaduz, across the channel". The channel is the English Channel, and Vaduz is the capital of Liechtenstein. The nearest lake (large) could be 12 miles to the north in Austria or (small) a mere 2-3 miles to the west, in Switzerland. Alt text.
The tower at the lake. "Aqua est vita" is "water is life" in Latin, while the smaller text reads "Wasserwerk der provinz" which is "waterworks of the province" in German. I'm leaning towards the lake to the north in Austria, due to the language choice, although I may of course be overthinking it. The Rhine also features heavily in the novel, and flows from that northern lake southwards, where it forms the border between Liechtenstein and Switzerland. A map showing Vaduz (outlined in red, in the lower right quadrant), and the two lakes that could be the one referenced. The black line running from the northern lake southwards is hiding the Rhine River under it, with Switzerland to the west of the line and Austria to the east, and the very small cutout of Liechtenstein between. The only thing that doesn't line up is the description of the tower being intended for a water filtration plant to irrigate the fields, but irrigation canals on the map (too small to see at this zoom level) appear to originate from the Rhine, not the lake. That's hair-splitting, though. Probably. Regardless of which lake it might have been meant to be, much of the creature's tale takes place in parts of the Alps, which is good because without having ever seen them, I would absolutely have guessed that these mountains were the Alps. (Also a good portion of the novel is in and around the relevant countries).
November 17, 2025 at 2:18 PM
somnomania.bsky.social
50. 300 characters is not enough to talk about the lymphatic system, except that it IS considered to be a counterpart to the circulatory system. I couldn't find anything online that could connect to Harlander's remark about Muslim medics.
A close-up of Harlander's hand and the fictional fifth Evelyn Table showing the lymphatic system in minute detail. The Greeks knew about the lymphatic system (specifically Hippocrates mentioned it in the 5th century BC), and then very little reference is made to it until the mid 16th century. The notion of it being useful to store energy and release it later as well as provide immense healing and regeneration if accessed properly is, I think, fiction.
November 17, 2025 at 1:30 PM
somnomania.bsky.social
49. The war being fought that provides all the parts of the creature is, I believe, the Crimean War (1853-1856). It's mentioned in the making-of that the pile of skeletons in the forest is from that war, and in a temperate climate (not in winter) human bodies could decompose in a matter of weeks.
The creature in the forest midden heap where he finds his coat. A tattered British flag is visible on the right. A close-up shot of the Edinburgh News after Victor meets with Harlander the first time, announcing that the war is ending. A pile of bodies—soldiers—lies in the snow surrounded by ravens and wreckage from a battle. Skeletonized windmills are visible in the background, which might or might not provide clues as to the location.
November 17, 2025 at 11:55 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
48. Iceboxes! This one looks like a chest freezer, which is not what the ones shown on Wikipedia are like, but whatever. Traditional kitchen iceboxes were used from the mid-19th century through to home refrigerators in the 1930s. 1827 saw the commercial ice cutter invented, which made things easier.
November 17, 2025 at 11:23 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
47. Harlander is right; in 1855 photography as used in the film was fairly new. All I could find involving glass plates was the collodion process, created in 1848 and first published in 1851. But that method produced negatives on the glass, so even though the rest of the process seems right, idk.
The creature holds up the glass plate photo of his own face during the assembly process, in front of him in some excellent visuals. A close-up of Harlander's portraits of Elizabeth and William. Harlander and his camera setup, in the tower lab. It has a wooden panel that he pulls up (where his left hand is), after which he removes the cover over the lens (which is pointed downward) for several seconds of exposure. The box of glass plates and the creature's portrait. Harlander has gloves on, to both protect him from chemicals and to avoid fingerprints on the glass, I assume.
November 17, 2025 at 10:50 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
46. It seems highly unlikely that this thing would animate on command after periods of no life, and without screaming the entire time; there are exposed bits everywhere, and if Victor truly connected all the nerves and things, existence would be an unspeakable amount of agony. Looks cool, though.
Victor's demonstration of reanimating part of a corpse. It is currently dormant, the batteries not having been placed yet.
November 17, 2025 at 10:25 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
45. I've wondered how Victor's batteries were meant to work since I saw the film in theaters. Check alt text for my pondering, and if you're interested in reading for yourself, definitely visit www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/...
Victor holding one of his smaller batteries used in his earlier experiments and at the Royal College of Medicine demonstration. It looks to be made of copper and glass with liquid inside. Based on the Wikipedia page on the history of the battery, I'm guessing it's Victor's version of a voltaic pile, the first true batteries, which consisted of pairs of copper and zinc discs stacked together with layers of brine between them. They held a charge while not in use, provided continuous electricity as long as they had a charge, and worked by a chemical reaction rather than a spark being generated. Victor's activate by something happening when he sets one in its holder, whether chemical or otherwise, and require pairs to work, apparently. At the demonstration and with the dissected cadaver, the batteries carry current through wires into the needles inserted into the critical points on the body. The large versions used in the tower lab don't have as apparent a purpose. There are four of them, and they only glow red during the thunderstorm that animates the creature; they also go dark with the sound of machinery powering down, I guess overloaded from the lightning. Maybe they were meant to hold their charge from the storm and further power the creature after the storm had ended? The creature, upright on its crucifix-like stand in the lab. I genuinely don't know what the chest-mounted battery was for with its (probably silver) ribcage mounting. It's not connected to anything, because when everything powers down during the storm it goes dark like the big ones, and Victor pulls the whole contraption off of the creature to listen for a heartbeat. I guess it's just to look neat.
November 17, 2025 at 10:18 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
44. I got out of film order, oh well. The name "blunderbuss" comes from Danish, and the weapon itself was likely invented in the Netherlands. It was used as a predecessor to the shotgun by many, including sailors, so it's fitting that this (extremely fanciful) version is here with this Danish crew.
Larsen, of the ship's crew in the movie, has come out of the captain's cabin with a four-barreled blunderbuss. To the movie's credit, it does look extremely cool and also very plausible that it could work the way that it does, but I don't know much at all about firearms. This closeup shows that the blunderbuss in the film has a metal band holding the four barrels together, as well as four of a flintlock firearm's hammers all lined up.
November 17, 2025 at 9:53 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
43. As this fellow points out, Victor's angel of death directly comes from a Mexican folk saint, with the design of it coming from a limited edition tequila that GDT created a few years ago. bsky.app/profile/drde...
Victor's red angel of death statue stands, one hand raised, with flames behind it.
November 17, 2025 at 9:44 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
42. This is a fanciful version of a Fisk coffin! They were patented in 1848 for the very wealthy, and real ones were metal and meant to be airtight with a glass viewing window to prevent decomposition and let loved ones see the departed. This just looks neat. burialsandbeyond.com/2019/07/01/v...
Claire Frankenstein's casket with her face displayed, being carried by several men. Obviously this setup wouldn't be any more airtight than a cookie jar, so this is more for imagery and symbolism than for later viewing, and the same with Leopold's.
November 17, 2025 at 9:42 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
40. Another flipped shot, which, again, took me multiple viewings to notice, but this one feels more egregious because more of his asymmetry is on display here. @mooseyells.bsky.social suggested it's just that it worked better this way, and that's probably all it is, it can't be that no one noticed.
The creature crouches in the midst of a pile of skeletons in the woods, holding up a skull to examine. This shot made it to the finished movie flipped, as the line on his forehead is going the wrong way, and in the motion of the scene it's clear that his one nipple (not something I try to look at, but it's hard not to here) is on the incorrect side. If I find a third flipped shot I might explode, and/or DM GDT.
November 17, 2025 at 8:47 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
the rats and wolves did seem to be, although that doesn't entirely make sense based on the credits:
November 14, 2025 at 8:29 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
38. My favorite bits that fill me with delight every time I rewatch are the things about the creature, the eyeshine and the growling and the slow blinks and how he responds when someone is kind to him. It was already a phenomenal movie, but Jacob Elordi really elevated it to something incredible.
The final shot of the film, of the creature with tears running down his cheeks as he looks toward the rising sun. The emotion here is so complex.
November 13, 2025 at 4:24 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
37. Did Victor deserve forgiveness? Maybe, maybe not. But the fact that he was genuinely regretful and that the creature DID forgive him is good, and fitting. I saw a review somewhere that called the ending "saccharine," but it was just a bittersweet ending to me.
On the ship at the end of the creature's tale, Victor has reached for the creature's hand to take it; the creature turns his hand after a moment to sort of reciprocate, in a tender gesture. Victor has placed his hand on the creature's head, and the creature looks pained but also relieved, his eyes closed and brow furrowed. The creature, smiling as he musters up the feeling for how he said Victor's name in the early days. The creature leans down to press a kiss to Victor's forehead, just after Victor has died.
November 13, 2025 at 4:24 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
36. More pleasing shots. (I have the second one as my desktop currently.)
Victor and the tent and sled dogs in the Arctic. The horizon faintly glows with sunset, and the moon is visible in the sky. The same faint sunset glow on the horizon shows the creature, silhouetted against it not far from where Victor has made camp.
November 13, 2025 at 4:24 AM
somnomania.bsky.social
35.2. Connected to the pain is the symbolism of the creature's stance with the dynamite, which sent me directly back to Elizabeth's comment about martyrdom paintings. The resignation of knowing it's going to hurt, a lot, but won't kill him, is so powerful.
November 13, 2025 at 4:24 AM