This should make you think…
How Netflix’s New Frankenstein Accidentally Explains Internal Family Systems
The new Frankenstein film on Netflix is supposed to be a gothic thriller — thunder, lightning, and existential dread. But as I watched it, something unexpected happened.
I started seeing it not just as a horror story… but as a perfect metaphor for Internal Family Systems (IFS), the therapeutic model that says we’re all made of inner “parts,” each trying to protect us, heal us, or help us survive.
Stick with me. I promise this will make you rethink the monster — and maybe even yourself.
The Creature as an Exile
In IFS, the deepest wounded parts of ourselves — the ones carrying shame, fear, trauma, loneliness — are called Exiles.
They’re exiled from our awareness because they’re too painful to face directly. They’re the parts of us we try to bury because we think they’re dangerous.
Isn’t that exactly what Victor Frankenstein does?
He creates life — this vulnerable, confused, newborn consciousness — and then immediately abandons it.
He judges it.
He fears it.
He pushes it away.
Victor’s “monster” isn’t monstrous at all.
He’s an exiled part who never got love, compassion, or guidance. And like any Exile, he eventually erupts in ways that terrify the system.
IFS teaches that when we exile a part of ourselves, it doesn’t disappear. It grows stronger in the shadows and eventually bursts out — sometimes as anxiety, sometimes as anger, sometimes as sabotaging behavior.
In the movie, the creature is the physical embodiment of everything Victor doesn’t want to face: guilt, regret, imperfection, vulnerability.
Just like our Exiles.
The Protectors: Managers and Firefighters
In IFS, when an Exile’s pain threatens to erupt, two other groups of parts step in: Managers and Firefighters.
Managers try to keep life orderly and controlled. They’re perfectionists, planners, suppressors.
Firefighters rush in during emergencies — addictions, outbursts, impulsive behavior.
Now let’s look at Victor Frankenstein again.
He’s the ultimate Manager part — obsessively controlling, avoiding emotion, intellectualizing everything.
Creating life was never about compassion; it was about mastery, achievement, and control.
“If I can control life itself, I never have to feel my own fear of death.”
When his creation shows signs of emotional need, Victor’s Firefighters show up. He runs, hides, denies, numbs, lashes out, blames. He does anything to avoid feeling the Exile’s pain — the very pain he created.
And just like in real internal systems, the more these protectors panic, the more chaos they create.
The Monster’s Rage Is Actually a Cry for Connection
This is straight IFS:
What looks like rage is almost always pain in disguise.
The creature’s fury in the Netflix film isn’t about destruction — it’s about abandoned longing.
He wanted identity.He wanted belonging.
He wanted a place in the world.
He wanted to be mirrored, known, and loved.
Isn’t that what every Exile wants?
When the creature finally confronts Victor, he isn’t asking for revenge — he’s asking for recognition. He wants Victor to see him not as a mistake, but as a part of him.
How many of our parts are doing the exact same thing?
The Self: The One Thing Missing in Frankenstein
IFS says beneath all our parts — the angry ones, the fearful ones, the perfectionistic ones, the lonely ones — there is Self: calm, compassionate, connected, curious, courageous.
Self is the healing force.
And that is exactly what the Frankenstein story lacks.
There is no Self-energy.
No compassion.
No integration.
No courageous turning-toward.
If Victor had met the creature with Self — instead of fear, shame, or avoidance — the entire story would have transformed. The creature never needed perfection. He needed presence.
IFS teaches that healing doesn’t come from eliminating parts; it comes from befriending them.
Seeing them.
Soothing them.
Inviting them back home.
If Victor had done IFS, he would have realized:
The monster wasn’t the mistake. The abandonment was.
The Real Lesson of the Movie
The Netflix Frankenstein is a warning tale, yes — but not about science gone wrong.
It’s about what happens when we exile parts of ourselves.
IFS shows us a different ending. A hopeful one.
Where the “monster” becomes a teacher.
Where the parts become allies.
Where the system finds harmony.
Maybe that’s why this movie hits so deeply:
It reminds us that inside all of us is a creature waiting to be understood — and a creator learning how to love what he made.
That’s not scary, is it?
Love
Dr Joe
(and Chappie)
PS – In case you are new to all this, begin here:
5 Books a Newbie Should Start With to Understand IFS (and Even Frankenstein)
1. No Bad Parts — Richard C. Schwartz, PhD
The clearest, warmest, most accessible introduction to IFS. Dr. Schwartz (the founder) explains the entire model in simple language, with stories and examples that make the “parts” inside us feel natural and relatable.
Perfect for understanding why your “inner monster” is never actually a monster.
2. Introduction to Internal Family Systems — Richard C. Schwartz & Martha Sweezy
This is the concise “IFS handbook.” Still beginner-friendly but a bit more structured and practical.
If Frankenstein shows what happens when parts become exiled, this book shows how to welcome them home.
3. Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts — Richard C. Schwartz
A beautiful, immersive set of teaching stories about parts, protectors, exiles, and Self.
Great for people who learn through narrative — making it easy to see how a misunderstood “creature” (inner or outer) behaves when it has no compassionate Self to guide it.
4. The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der Kolk, MD
Not strictly an IFS book, but several chapters dive into IFS, trauma, and how unhealed wounds create “inner exiles.”
Helps a newbie understand why trauma creates inner monsters and why compassion, not suppression, is the medicine.
5. Frankenstein — Mary Shelley (annotated editions preferred)
To tie it all together, reading Shelley’s original story — especially in editions with psychological or philosophical notes — reveals how deeply the narrative mirrors IFS.
The creature is the ultimate Exile, Victor is the panicked Manager, and every tragedy is caused by refusing to stay in Self.
https://www.mrfire.com/law-of-attraction/netflixs-frankenstein-accidentally-explains-ifs/
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