Frankenstein References in Unexpected Places

Although the film is not explicitly a “Frankenstein” story, Scary Movie 4 is in essence like the story of Frankenstein in that it is a story composed of a series of other stories. This film is a parody, incorporating various aspects of plot, character development, and production style from a variety of other films, including The Grudge, The Village, the Saw series, and War of the Worlds.  In a way similar to Shelley’s Frankenstein, the film opens with a scene that is not directly important to or involved with the majority of the remaining plot.

Scary Movie 4 is the fourth in a series of five films presented in such a manner. In addition to pulling in aspects of separate films, they also relate in some ways to each other. For example, approximately halfway through the film, a character is introduced for a brief period of time who actually died in Scary Movie 3.  Presenting this focus is important because it demonstrates from the beginning the echoes of Shelley’s novel within the film. The novel is not just present in aspects of the film’s plot; rather, it is evident in the very methods used to tell the story within the film.

Throughout the film, different characters fall into different roles from Frankenstein at different points in the plot. As a result, the story of Frankenstein cannot be seen linearly through the plot of Scary Movie 4 even though it may be visible from a more open-minded, fluid perspective. In one situation, near the end of the film, Jigsaw is portrayed as Frankenstein in that he is a creator and an inventor and also in that he is seeking revenge for the death of a loved one. However, Jigsaw also seems a bit like the Creation from the story of Frankenstein in that he is portrayed in such a way as to encourage the audience to feel sympathetic towards him because of the life he has been forced to lead due to circumstances beyond his control. Because these two roles are played at some times simultaneously, it may be difficult to easily see the Frankenstein references that are present. I would focus on this scene because there are many aspects of the novel that are present within it, and they are only visible when looked at through a very fluid perspective. Using this logic, many films contain trace amounts of Frankenstein within them. However, these are often overlooked because of the fact that when we watch films for pleasure, we often miss small but important details.