Sparks Fly Between the Living and Undead in Offbeat Horror Rom Com Lisa Frankenstein (2024)
Title: Lisa Frankenstein
First Non-Festival Release: February 5, 2024 (Premiere)
Director: Zelda Williams
Writer: Diablo Cody
Runtime: 101 Minutes
Starring: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano
Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here
Lisa (Kathryn Newton) is going about another day in her unlucky life when a storm brings the corpse of a man (Cole Sprouse), whose grave she stops by every day, back to life. After realizing her wistful words resurrected him, Lisa warms up to the idea of having a companion. With her absent father (Joe Chrest), suspiciously nice stepsister Taffy (Liza Soberano), and wicked stepmother (Carla Gugino), Lisa could use someone to talk to, even if he cannot talk back to her. When the Creature does something horrible, Lisa is forced to pick up the pieces of his mistakes. Literally.
An endearing coming-of-age rom com with a horror twist, Lisa Frankenstein stumbles in executing its quirky premise.
Debut director Zelda Williams and veteran writer Diablo Cody bring a retro spin on the seminal classic sci-fi/horror novel ‘Frankenstein’. Eschewing the typical mad scientist approach most works tend to make when adapting Mary Shelley’s source material, Lisa Frankenstein opts for a more romantic undertaking, which ironically fits the literary movement even more. Lisa’s inadvertent confession to be with a dead man may not have been intentional, yet it propels her into an emotional journey of discovering who she is, what she wants, and how to exist in a world that would rather she not exist. This, added with her longing for human connection, parallels the original work in a fresh and interesting way.
The message is clear: it’s important to love others who love you back, and Lisa Frankenstein makes no apologies for its messy characters in discovering this truth. Lisa’s life has been turbulent to say the least. Suffering the loss of her mother to an axe murderer, moving her senior year to a city where she has no friends, and living with a stepmother who criticizes everything she does, it’s safe to say that Lisa feels lonely. When the Creature shows up in her life, Lisa finally gets a taste of what it is like to have support, even though she later realizes that her stepsister Taffy cares similarly. Ultimately, Lisa decides that she wants to do right by the people who do care, giving weight to her final acts of selflessness.
Perhaps what drags down the charming story of Lisa Frankenstein most is its anemic pacing and poor editing. A rapid-paced prologue featuring some inspired artistic animation choices set the scene before introducing the shy Lisa and her monstrous lover. From there, Lisa Frankenstein hits a lull, where Lisa and the Creature move through their awkward relationship into something more resembling a friendship. Once the bodies start hitting the floor, however, Lisa Frankenstein doesn’t seem to know what to do with its momentum, leading to some anticlimactic moments and missed opportunities to explore character motivations. Cody’s signature comedic jabs hit hard but miss even harder. Oftentimes when an obscure reference is lost or a character beat is unfulfilled, the uncomfortably languid editing comes into play.
Anchored further by its strong leading performances, Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse bring depth to the quirkiness. Kathryn Newton’s performance is as electric as the supernatural tanning bed that brings her undead lover closer to life. Injecting equal amounts of charisma and dead-pan comedic timing, Newton is clearly having fun with the role. It goes without notice that her understanding of Lisa goes beyond the obvious. Her stiff movements and quiet stares, evoke images of the original Bride of Frankenstein that don’t feel too obvious. Cole Sprouse also demonstrates this too with the Creature. His clear understanding of physical comedy and facial expressions help convey the complexity of his tortured but loving soul. The chemistry between the pair is apparent, as it wipes away any of the awkwardness leftover from the rough editing or uneven script.
The greatest strength in Lisa Frankenstein, however, is in William’s beautiful imagining of Lisa’s world. Candy coated sets and neon shrouded fog help set the tone for the film’s upbeat yet morbid story. Its portrait of suburbia is one that is both vibrant and artificial, much like the cast of characters that push Lisa into making her series of increasingly poor judgments regarding the Creature. Beyond furthering the narrative goals, its aesthetic is also just fun and memorable, beckoning to the late 80s and the penchant for horror films to be more unabashedly silly.
Made for a specific audience, Lisa Frankenstein is a quirky and entertaining horror rom com that does right by its source material. Its clever gender subversions of what to expect in a ‘Frankenstein’ adaptation make this uniquely poppy teen movie experience feel fresh despite its period setting. Bright stars and even brighter colors make Lisa Frankenstein a tasty piece of gateway horror candy that is best enjoyed with friends focusing on having a good time.
Overall Score? 6/10
