‘Lisa Frankenstein’ Review: A Beautiful Mess For The Weirdos Out There
Growing up as a weird teenage girl is a chaotic experience, to say the least. So often, in movies and TV shows, you’d see characters like yourself having to undergo a massive physical transformation to prove their worth as human beings. Sure, there were some weird girls out there, but they were few and far between. Now, Zelda Williams has released a new anthem for the weirdo, a battle cry for those who refuse to conform. Her feature film debut Lisa Frankenstein, written by Diablo Cody (Jennifer’s Body), beautifully melds gothic horror with 80s pop aesthetics to create one hell of a love story involving axes, tanning beds, and just a few body parts.
Lisa (Kathryn Newton) has recently moved to a new town with her father after his marriage to Janet (Carla Gugino). She moves into her cotton candy-pink house that she shares with her daughter, Taffy (Liza Soberano), a cheerleader at the local high school. There, Lisa silently floats through the halls and writes dark poetry in the local cemetery for the school’s literary magazine. While she couldn’t be more different from her stepsister, Taffy is unlike most stepsister characters in films of this ilk. Instead of being a bully, she’s protective of her new sister, always keeping an eye out for Lisa no matter what. Janet, however, is the pinnacle of the evil stepmother, a spiteful woman who sees herself as a martyr, from her job as a nurse to her role as stepmother to the weird Lisa.
As in most gothic tales, Lisa’s father Dale (Joe Chrest) is spineless and merely bends to the will of his new wife. Lonely, Lisa believes she’s doomed to pine for a dead man whose grave she frequents as she tries to blend in at her new school.
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Then, after a freak thunderstorm, the reanimated corpse of Lisa’s dreams arrives at her front door. The handsome man she fantasized about is actually alive! But at first, Lisa views the corpse as just a friend, because there’s no way she could possibly love a dead guy. Right? From here, Lisa Frankenstein flows from a buddy comedy to a romantic comedy to a gothic horror, beginning like a gothic Sixteen Candles and ending like a punk and pink Edward Scissorhands. It’s a smattering of genres and storylines that are chaotic, yes, and yet ultimately work to create an authentic portrayal of how it feels to be a teenager.
The script by the legendary Diablo Cody contains her signature clever one-liners and snappy dialogue. They set the baseline for the film’s dry, quick wit that’s then paired with blood, death, and more than a few axe wounds. Cody’s stylized dialogue pairs beautifully with Williams’ vision and Mark Worthington’s production design to create a heightened vision of reality drenched in shades of pink and layers of laces. Often, the film’s style overrides the narrative, making parts of Lisa Frankenstein feel more like a fever dream rather than a cohesive story.
And yet, that works in the film’s favor because of how much Williams and Cody lean into that energy. It’s an energy that acknowledges, yes, this concept is strange, but just go with it. Take Williams’ hand and trust her to take you on a sweet, hilarious, shockingly gross ride through the beauty and hell of adolescent love.
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Selling that love are Newton and Sprouse who seem like they are simply having a blast on screen. Sprouse in particular delivers exceptional body comedy as his character doesn’t utter a word of dialogue. He is perfect as both the friend-zoned best friend and gothic love interest, both suave and awkward, sweet and standoffish, which seems silly to write about a corpse. But it’s true! Sprouse makes a corpse infinitely loveable. Newton, on the other hand, plays the perfect weirdo, who vaguely knows how to speak with others but would truly prefer not to. They play off of each other so well, creating the type of chemistry that Mary Shelley could only dream of.
But I would be remiss to not sing the praises of Soberano and Gugino, who often threaten to steal the show with their respective performances. Soberano in particular as Taffy is pitch-perfect as the stepsister/wannabe best friend who is a bit naive but ultimately well-meaning. She delivers some of the film’s best lines with a not-quite-Valley-Girl affectation usually designated for the mean girls. And Gugino is the perfect narcissistic stepmother who is wound so tight that the faintest breeze will cause her to snap. She’s deplorable, exactly what you need for your gothic horror villain.
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It’s no easy feat to combine 1980s pop aesthetics and gothic horror to create an endearing tale about being true to yourself, no matter what. And yet, Lisa Frankenstein is full of an electricity that feels so genuine, so fun, that it’s easy to overlook its flaws, especially if you’re looking for a heartfelt, silly, and occasionally gory story that honestly portrays the hellish experience of growing up. Williams wears her heart on her sleeve as she brings to life another colorful world from Diablo Cody, pouring love and even grief into a horror film that will hopefully serve as many young people’s first steps into the genre. It’s not perfect, but it’s everything a young me needed to see.
Long live the weird girl and her dead boyfriend. May their love know no end.
Lisa Frankenstein is out now in theaters.
Summary
Lisa Frankenstein beautifully melds gothic horror with 80s pop aesthetics to create one hell of a love story involving axes, tanning beds, and just a few body parts.
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