The movie opens up with a wedding scene, with Brad and Janet as the guests. The wedding scene itself foreshadows the plot, and it isn’t as innocent and plain as it seems at first glance; many of the actors that will appear later are in front of the church as well, the car of the newlyweds has a quote implying sex, or the husband finally getting it in exchange for marriage.
In a classic horror fashion, Brad and Janet find themselves stuck in the middle of the rainy night in the middle of nowhere in the need of help. They decide to go to the castle they just passed unaware of the fate that awaits there. The entrance to the castle also very horror-like, the worker that greets them has an eerie vibe and Janet and Brad are greeted with the painting of American Gothic and a skull in a casket.
Finally, the owner of the castle enters extravagantly with a song introducing himself as a sweet transsexual. It is clear from the start that Frank is completely comfortable in his skin, the lack of clothes and in his sexual identity. Frank is a parody of Frankenstein, as the name itself suggests, and he is on a mission to create his perfect male specimen. His lab is at the top of his castle instead of in the basement because he doesn’t feel the need to hide anything, representing in this way complete freedom.
Janet and Brad go through a transformation at the castle, from a boring normal couple to individuals who learn to be free in expressing themselves. They become comfortable in their nudity and sexuality. Dr. Everett comes in, and there is a spark of hope for Janet and Brad’s escape, but as everyone else, he is influenced and put under Frank’s control.
The ending brings another horror trope into the mix, which is aliens and UFO’s, and Frank is finally defeated after being told that he failed his mission for the Transexual planet. The only ones left at the ending scene are those from the normal world: Janet, Brad and Dr. Everett, but they aren’t happy. They experienced a life outside the norm, and now they have to go back to normalcy. The ending narration expresses hopelessness and insignificance of the human race, comparing humans to insects.
