Lisa Frankenstein (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – A coming of RAGE love story about a teenager and her crush, who happens to be a corpse. After a set of horrific circumstances bring him back to life, the two embark on a journey to find love, happiness – and a few missing body parts.

My Take – When it comes to most famous monster stories, alongside vampiric tales of Dracula and werewolves, the Frankenstein Monster continues to be a sought out creation. With nearly every year seeing a version of The Creature hitting the screens as filmmakers desperately aim to get the character to resonate with the modern audience.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to know that two different productions, one from actress turned filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal, and another from Guillermo del Toro are in the works currently, each with a star-studded cast attached.

However, this latest from acclaimed screenwriter Diablo Cody, who shot to prominence following her Oscar win for Juno (2007), twists the whole formula by re-imagining Mary Shelley’s iconic horror text as a teen comedy on the lines of Heathers (1988) with a romantic hero in the mold of Edward Scissorhands (1990) and brings it into the iconic 80s.

Apparently set in the same fictional universe as Jennifer’s Body (2009), the resulting feature is a quirky and campy affair that is kind of cheesy, a little romantic, and gruesome enough. It’s just straight up weird, in a good way.

Directed by Zelda Williams, daughter of the late Robin Williams, in her feature-length directorial debut, this one is easily reminiscent of Tim Burton‘s works as it tells a teenage story about feeling rebellious and wanting to lash out at the world for the grief and trauma launched onto them.

Sure, it is not as memorable as the ’80s and ’90s high-school romps and creep shows it pays tribute to, as it takes a lot of risks in the storytelling department, some of which pay off and others, not so much. Plus, it’s unforgivable how the script fumbles a complicated emotional through-line about the trauma of losing one’s mother violently, and careens into a doomed lovers’ story.

Still, there’s still lots of gory fun to be had as Cody‘s script is mostly funny and charming, Williams‘ direction is on point, and Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse make for an electric duo who manage to sell this weird and wacky vision refreshingly.

Set in 1989, the story follows Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton), a lonely teenage girl still shaken by her mother’s gruesome axe murder a few months earlier. But while her father (Joe Chrest) has moved on and lumped her into an entirely new family with a stepsister Taffy (Liza Soberano) and a stepmom Janet (Carla Gugino), Lisa continues to be in an emotionally unstable state.

Though Taffy emerges as a beacon of support for her, as she’s a charismatic and well-liked cheerleader with a heart of gold. Her new mother? Not so much. Forcing her to hang out mostly at a local desolate bachelor cemetery tucked away in the depths of a forest, dreaming of the mysterious man who lies in her favorite grave plot.

However, following a chaotic lightning storm, Lisa comes face to face with the reanimated corpse, The Creature (Cole Sprouse), and an alliance forms between the two that becomes the unlikely force for transformation and murderous discovery.

Indeed, the film is dark and silly, and so comically broad that the murder and violence feels perfect with the film’s tone. This is one of the rare instances where a PG-13 rating works in a comedy’s favor, if only for a scene at the very end that involves Lisa finding someone in bed.

Acting as a love letter to the 1980’s with the style and trends of the time. The outfits, music, personalities, and slasher film homages are all present and it never veers into indulgence or taking itself too seriously. Like how Taffy’s own personal tanning bed, which she won at a beauty contest, becomes the mechanism that allows The Creature to heal his decaying body and become progressively more alive.

Lisa’s fashion turns to black lace dresses paired with big, frizzy hair and a floral bucket hat. She pines for the editor of the school’s newspaper, Michael Trent (Henry Eikenberry), who isn’t as deep as he projects himself to be.

The film piles on the high-school comedy clichés while flipping those tropes on their heads. Lisa’s perfectly coiffed stepsister Taffy could be the poster child for callous cinematic cheerleaders, but in a refreshing twist, she’s written more like a friend than a foe.

Here, writer Cody further skewers nerd and cool-guy archetypes by offering a female protagonist who’s smart and cultured, and whose coming-of-age journey catapults her into becoming even more herself.

On the negative side, though, it has moments that just feel rushed, unearned, or even unresolved. There’s one specific aspect of Lisa’s character and her familial backstory that doesn’t have the payoff that it seems to be setting up for and it’s not done in a way that feels subversive or fresh. And even though it provides an interesting exploration of what grieving looks like for some people the violence may be off-putting.

Performance wise, Kathryn Newton continues to prove herself to be that rare starlet who seems to be a real weirdo with the face of an angel. She’s a likable teenage misfit in the late 80s who absolutely owns the vibe of a teenager living in that area, but she also has a surprising amount of charisma, a charisma that you only really get from someone who’s dorky and socially off in a way that’s still enduring.

Cole Sprouse delivers a physical performance that is surprisingly moving and romantic. It’s a mostly nonverbal performance, but he really sells the movement, confusion, and overall mentally limited aspects of the character.

But the breakout star and true discovery of the film is Liza Soberano, who embodies writer Cody’s famously clever and convoluted dialogue with a sincerity that elevates her character beyond an ironic archetype. In supporting roles, Carla Gugino, Joe Chrest and Henry Eikenberry make the most of the wackiness and carefree premise. On the whole, ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ is a weird little horror comedy that delivers a wild, fun, and quirky time.