Frankenstein Unbound vs. Stranger Things: Hawkins, Rifts, and Unkillable Evil

Let’s talk about a forgotten time-traveling Frankenstein movie that might secretly share DNA with Stranger Things. No, seriously—Frankenstein Unbound (1990) feels like the Upside Down’s weird literary cousin.

It’s got:

• A government lab called the Hawkins Institute

• Dimensional rifts messing with time and space

• And a monster that literally says, “I am unbound,” right after dying, because evil never really goes away, does it?

Sound familiar?

In Stranger Things, you’ve got the Hawkins Lab, a different flavor of shady science, and a rift to another dimension unleashing horrors beyond comprehension. In Unbound, it’s 2031, and Dr. Joseph Buchanan accidentally invents a weapon that opens time-slips—sending him right into 1817 to meet Victor Frankenstein, his monster, and a pre-married Mary Shelley. Because what’s science fiction without a surprise literary crossover?

Let’s not forget the meta cherry on top: there’s a scene where an American actor doing a British accent asks a British actor doing an American accent where he’s from. That’s not a plot point—that’s just cosmic-level trolling from the casting gods.

But the real kicker? When the monster dies and says, “I am unbound,” it’s not just dramatic villain talk—it’s the whole theme. That once you let evil out of the box—whether it’s a monster, a weapon, or a ripple in the fabric of reality—it doesn’t go quietly. It echoes. It festers. It lingers. Just like that spooky energy pulsing underneath Hawkins, Indiana.

So is Frankenstein Unbound a secret Stranger Things prequel? Probably not. But should you give it a watch anyway? Absolutely.

Because sometimes, the B-movie deep cuts speak louder than a Demogorgon roar.