Photo courtesy of Mike Allen via Wikimedia Commons.
By Sarah Berger ʼ27
Staff Writer
Written by Diablo Cody, best known for “Jennifer’s Body” and “Juno,” “Lisa Frankenstein” is a quirky teen horror-comedy about Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton), her life with her happy-go-lucky stepsister Taffy (Lisa Soberano), and her interactions with a resurrected corpse (Cole Sprouse).
The movie opens with the song “The Promise,” by When in Rome, which leads into the 80s setting that defines the movie’s aesthetic. The soundtrack is excellent, but that’s where the movie's positive comparability to any 80s hits ends. It contains several homages to “Heathers,” including Kathryn Newton’s attempts to emulate Winona Ryder, Sprouse’s zombie being stylistically reminiscent of J.D. — the antagonist of Heathers — clueless parents and a graveyard murder scene ripped almost word-for-word from the aforementioned movie. It’s also something of a “Beetlejuice” parody, which is emphasized by Sprouse’s over-exaggerated Michael Keaton-style makeup.
Unfortunately, Lisa herself is unlikeable, so it’s harder to see her as a Lydia Deetz than a Heather Chandler who hasn’t yet become popular. She seems only capable of being dejected, cynical or angry. The emotions make sense in the context of what her character has been through, but since the movie seems unwilling to explore that in any way except comedically, it’s hard to connect with her. Her motivations are murky, and she seems to delight in hurting people who aren't doing anything wrong aside from being happy. Newton does what she can with the role, but Lisa comes off as little more than perverted and angry.
Sprouse does a good job as The Creature, all things considered. For much of the movie, he can’t talk, hear or move in much more than a convoluted shuffle. This makes the chemistry between him and Lisa hard to believe since the majority of the conversations they’ve had involve her talking into his unresponsive grave. By the final 20 minutes, though, both actors have done a good job of creating some genuine romantic tension, despite the movie’s predictability.
The film over-relies on CGI, to the detriment of some lighting and visual choices that could be genuinely interesting, including a black-and-white gothic dream sequence. Instead, it comes off as more cheap funhouse than quirky hyperreality.
In terms of its earlier counterparts, “Lisa Frankenstein” has strong parallels to “Jennifer’s Body.” It’s hard to not compare the two — Cody herself has said they’re set in the same universe. Where “Jennifer’s Body” was poignant, “Lisa Frankenstein” falls flat. For a horror comedy, the gore isn’t gory and the jokes aren’t funny. The movie is filled with Cody’s signature pop culture references, which are never quite oblique enough not to be cringe-worthy.
If it were more willing to stray from the genre’s cliches, “Lisa Frankenstein” would be a much better movie. The setup has the potential to be interesting, but it’s so deeply predictable that the ending is practically spelled out 15 minutes in. The ending is almost sweet enough to save the rest of the movie, but it’s not quite enough to make you forget about the first hour.
However, the film is not unwatchable. In its best moments, it has an oddball charm. Sometimes, the aesthetics work. If you’re willing to ignore continuity, humor or your expectations of a good movie, “Lisa Frankenstein” is entertaining. It’s like candy. You’re not quite sure what you’re consuming, but why not try it anyway?