I think it is safe to say there are many lovable monster characters in horror.
When you think of a ‘lovable’ monster, your brain can default to many things: for most people, you might naturally default to your favourite vampire. The angstier among us might think of a werewolf character. You could be one of the more radical monster fuckers, resonating with The Shape of Water and Guillermo del Toro himself who commented on the sexiness of the Creature from the Black Lagoon. There are some real weirdos who even want to fuck Pennywise, though I’m sure that’s just part of the Bill Skarsgard plague that’s sweeping the horror nation by storm. I don’t get it, but different strokes.
I have seen more tweets and comments recently, however, on the lovability of Frankenstein’s Monster. While most of these posts are written in jest, they discuss how in Shelley’s work or even in the earliest Frankenstein films with Boris Karloff, it makes no sense that no one wanted to be with him — he was tall, he was strong, he was pretty quiet in the film version too. And while looks might have something to do with his lack of pizazz in the films, what these people also fail to consider (or just might not know as the casual observer) is the anger Frankenstein’s Monster has inside of him — from his devastation at being created only to then be forced to life an existence alone. This anger often results in violence, manipulation and threats and lends itself to the whole ‘what happens when man plays God’ narrative that’s been around for close to forever.
And while clearly rooted in the same genre of monsters as the Frankenstein’s Monster, we have Diablo Cody’s creations. These monsters are rooted in a similar theme: human dies, is resurrected, yet they don’t have the same vengeful loneliness or nihilism that Shelley’s original had. Cody’s monsters can be vengeful, they can be lonely, but they are ultimately here through supernatural means. They are not an experiment gone wrong, they are back with divine purpose and they are making it everyone’s business. They don’t hide in the shadows or hate what they are, they make the best of it and I think this is why Diablo Cody’s monsters are such a fun and special character and ultimately, pretty loveable monsters.
The most obvious Frankenstein of Diablo Cody’s characters is Creature from Lisa Frankenstein, he is literally a reanimated corpse with the implied last name of ‘Frankenstein’. Yet it wasn’t out of loneliness or experimentation that Lisa brought him back, it was her love and need for a friend. After experiencing a traumatic event, Lisa stumbles into the graveyard and finds Creature’s grave. This grave has been one she’s been to many times, she tends to it, she reads to him, and she even gave him her dead mother’s rosary to protect him. When she settles here on this particular night, she simply says ‘I wish I was with you’. She goes home, and then some force from beyond this realm creates a bolt of green lightning that strikes his grave and brings him back to life. He is here for Lisa — some divine force at play saw Lisa needed a friend and gave her her soulmate. And despite the fact she wants almost nothing to do with him at first, Creature continues to look out for her, trying his best to navigate life as a rotting corpse who is in unrequited love with his best friend. And almost as a reward, when they start collecting body parts and electrocuting them into working, Creature starts to look more…alive. Creature is silly, he’s loving, he doesn’t hold any resentment to Lisa for her wish bringing him back, he simply wishes he could be the man she wants while still helping her pursue the other guy she likes. This is an update to Frankenstein’s monster that makes Creature strictly Diablo Cody’s — no matter how heavily inspired he is by Frankenstein, he is his own creature in his own right. If you removed the Frankenstein name, Creature could stand on his own as a classic horror boyfriend. He was brought back out of love for love, and I think this, even more than him getting physically more human, is what makes him a beautiful monster that has caused gender envy round the world.
And if nature must bear one creation out of love, the other must be born of revenge…and this is the role of Jennifer Check.
Jennifer’s Body is more similar to the original Frankenstein when it comes to origin and follow through of the monster: Jennifer Check was brutally murdered as a sacrifice for fame and fortune, and as a result was left with a demon inside her that feasts on the flesh of men. This is more similar to the original Frankenstein story, as Jennifer is resurrected against her will and after being brutally attacked at the hands of man. Yet again, unlike in Frankenstein, it’s not these boys who bring her back, but the demonic force who failed to take her soul as she wasn’t a virgin for the sacrifice. Because of this factor, Cody once again elevates the original Frankenstein by having her creation be driven by divine intervention — Jennifer isn’t lonely, she does not feel like a monster, she knows that this is who she is now and actively enjoys her newfound abilities and powers. The only time we see Jennifer cry is when she is alone and putting on make up in a mirror. While some have interpreted this scene as Jennifer fearing who she is becoming — I always have felt quite the opposite. Because she is putting on make up while looking at herself, I believe this is Jennifer mourning the loss of her expectations. Jennifer once believed men could see her for more than her appearance, and that she could have a normal life. But after her attack, and after men continue to treat her just as before, I think Jennifer is fully embracing the monster here. The theme of this film is girls having to grow up too fast, and I think that sentiment is perfectly executed in Jennifer embracing the monster and giving them all a taste of revenge. Jennifer openly is happy about the fact that she can eat those who murdered her or ogled her for years. She is something more powerful than she could ever hope to be in life, and if she’s the only one of her kind, more power to her. Jennifer is confident, she is openly and happily the monster and it’s why so many people love her. Jennifer Check is a horror staple, she is a character unto herself and I think that’s exactly what she would have wanted and what she deserves.
Cody knows how to elevate an existing trope whilst creating her own narrative. The Diablo Cody monster is one meant for young people, and I think that is such an important character to have. Adolescence is all about feeling like a monster, like a reject who no one wants or understands, and while Cody appreciates that feeling, she challenges it by asking what if the monster wasn’t a monster at all? What if this is all by grand design and you are exactly who you need to be right now? There is something so intimidating about loving yourself fully that I think Cody’s work helps to navigate. Through the power of loving oneself, Frankenstein’s Monster is elevated to one of Diablo Cody’s monsters, and that is an upgrade worth having.