Lisa Frankenstein review.
Kathryn Newton shines in Diablo Cody’s return to the teen horror comedy genre. Unfortunately, the movie paints itself into a corner that hangs her character out to dry.
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Lisa Frankenstein
Directed by Zelda Williams
Written by Diablo Cody
Starring Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Jenna Davis, Trina LaFargue, Paolo Andino and Carla Gugino
Lisa Frankenstein Review
Diablo Cody returns to the teen horror-comedy realm with Lisa Frankenstein. It’s an exciting prospect for fans of Jennifer’s Body…a movie famously discarded upon its release that went on to find an enduring cult following in the years since. Lisa Frankenstein feels like an attempt to skip straight to the cult classic stage of existence.
Lisa (Kathryn Newton) is an outcast. She’d rather spend time in an old cemetery talking to a long dead man than partaking in social norms. When a lightning strike brings the man back to life…she finally finds someone to talk to about her problems. Unfortunately…his answer is to everything is murder. On the other hand, she’s totally into it.
Cole Sprouse plays the mute undead man who upends Lisa’s life. If you can look past the murders…he’s everything that Lisa was looking for. Her life is in a terrible place when he shambles into it. Her mother was murdered, and her new stepmother (Carla Gugino) is a monster. Her stepsister Taffy (Liza Soberano) defies the cliches of the popular girl character. She genuinely cares for Lisa and wants to be a real family. Lisa has no such interest. In fact, her only interest that would be deemed “normal” in the film’s 1989 setting is her crush on cool guy Michael (Henry Eikenberry).
Lisa Frankenstein takes some cues from Tim Burton’s classic Edward Scissorhands. The pastel colors of the suburban 80s contrasted by Lisa’s gothic look and the reanimated corpse she looks after feels very Burton. Of course, Depp’s Edward wasn’t as quick to murder as Sprouse’s zombie is. Sprouse does a lot with the character despite the obvious limitations. He slowly becomes more human thanks to a malfunctioning tanning bed. If you’re in for that…you’ll probably enjoy a lot of Lisa Frankenstein.
Kathryn Newton is as excellent as she is any role that isn’t a C-tier Marvel movie. She transforms from mumbling introvert to confident accomplice with ease. Accomplice to more than one murder by the time Lisa Frankenstein is done. Her new BFF needed some parts, after all. An ear…a hand…um…other things. What better way than directing his murdering tendencies towards her enemies? It’s a necessary part of any Frankenstein story…and, in a way, what undoes this one.
The nature of the story leaves very few options to stick the landing. For all of Newton’s charm, Cody’s clever script and Zelda Williams’s visual style…the movie eventually paints itself into a corner. Things get appropriately crazy as things begin to unravel…but Lisa’s arc seems to zigzag as needed. The story deserves credit for not going the easy route. Having Lisa and her undead suitor fall into an immediate loving relationship would be too basic. Her crush on Michael, however, leads the plot into some unearned places in the third act.
There are enough witty moments and enough great performances for Lisa Frankenstein to deliver an enjoyable viewing experience. There is an air of try-hard to it all, however. It wants that cult status so bad it can, at times, feel reverse engineered. I don’t know if that’s why the narrative ignores its main characters through line as it ends up doing…but I suspect it is part of the problem. The story never fully works for Lisa’s arc. She introduces a goal very late in the proceedings to tack on a suitable climax…and her relationships with Michael and her undead friend don’t resolve in a way that is narratively satisfying. But it does land some of the film’s best scenes.
Not the best scene, however. That comes earlier when the reserved Lisa opens herself up to life for the first time since her tragedy. With her personal murder zombie accompanying on piano…Lisa belts out a fantastic version of REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling”. It’s a perfect scene with a tremendous performance by Newton. It works as both the memorable moment Lisa Frankenstein is desperate to deliver AND a meaningful character moment for Lisa. The movie then chooses to double back on its best work to deliver more “fun” scenes even if it means muddying Lisa’s arc.
Maybe Lisa Frankenstein will attain the status that it craves. Newton’s performance certainly deserves it. But it also deserved better from the story told here. More moments in the mold of Lisa’s rendition of “Can’t Fight This Feeling” would have elevated the movie beyond potential cult classic status to something even better. Memorable.
Scare Value
There’s a lot to like about Lisa Frankenstein. A great cast led by another wonderful Kathryn Newton performance…a sharp script from Diablo Cody…a confident directorial debut from Zelda Williams. Enough to make for a good time. Unfortunately, the good time eventually runs into a roadblock of its own making. An unsatisfying ending can’t undo everything that came before it…but it can keep it from the cult status it so desperately desired.
3/5
Lisa Frankenstein Link
In theaters this Friday – Fandango
