LISA FRANKENSTEIN is fun but lacks connective tissue
Lisa Frankenstein (2024)
Written by Diablo Cody
Directed by Zelda Williams
Starring Kathryn Newton, Liza Soberano and Cole Sprouse
Running time 1 hour and 41 minutes
MPAA Rating PG-13 for violent content, sexual assault, language, bloody images, sexual material, teen drinking and drug content
In theaters February 9, 2024
by Rosalie Kicks Old Sport and Editor in Chief
“I just don’t think anyone should be forgotten.”
I love dead guys. I also adore Jughead aka Cole Sprouse. Jughead playing a reanimated corpse seems like win-win. Unfortunately, with Lisa Frankenstein it is not so much the story, but the way in which it is told, that had me wishing it remained underground instead of popping out of the coffin.
An exuberant Kathryn Newton plays Lisa, a teen girl that is trying to find her footing after her mother died a horrible death by the hands of an axe murderer. Along with her trauma, Lisa contends with a new family after her father quickly remarried. Despite Lisa not having much in common with her stepsister Taffy (Liza Soberano), the two of them still manage to look out for one another and have an understanding. After a rotten experience at a party, Lisa finds herself pining for the perfect mate. Cue a crash of lightening and in ambles the monster of her dreams(?) fresh from the graveyard. Together Lisa and her new undead pal come of age, utilize a tanning bed to keep the sparks flying, and wreak havoc on their suburban town.
There is a lot going on with Lisa Frankenstein, and it is easy to get swallowed up in the film due to the kitschy eighties ephemera, brightly colored palette and electric personalities. Typically I don’t have a lot of time to ruminate about a film before writing the review, but in this case I saw the picture two weeks before the release. This reflection period left me to realize that my biggest qualm with the film was the way in which it was told. Given that this is a directorial debut from Zelda Williams, I was not expecting perfection. There is no doubt that the imagery is eye catching and the sequences and dialogue are entertaining which shows that as a director she has promise. However, where the film fails is by not having any connective tissue to bring it together.
The Universal horror movie posters hanging in Lisa’s room, the black and white Bride of Frankenstein fantasy sequence, and the Georges Méliès homage were not lost on me. In fact, these stylistic choices and details pulled at my heart strings. It also caused me to be even more frustrated with the way in which the plot unfolds. Lisa is first introduced as a meek and demure teenager that spends her free time in the cemetery making tombstone rubbings and pining for departed dudes. Suddenly, her personality flips and she becomes a sex crazed killer in shades. There is very little character development or reasoning behind the actions that are taken. Scenes jump from one to the next, leaving me feel like I was watching a series of vignettes rather than a cohesive movie. Lisa’s character struggles with her demeaning stepmother, has problems fitting in at school, and has a dead guy living in her closet, but the film does not provide any motivation behind her one-eighty. To have such swings in personality, it seemed it would have been better served with a longer passing of time or possibly more scenes that better fit the desired outcome.
Due to Lisa Frankenstein’s faults, I don’t deem this as being worth a trip out to the cinema. Instead, it is best served as a streaming pick on a Friday night in with a pizza. The stellar performances offset the klunkiness of the storytelling, particularly that of Liza Soberano as Taffy. On paper, I can’t stand the former beauty queen that is Taffy. In person though, she is one of those characters you can’t help but liking as she finds a way to connect and make everyone feel comfortable. Liza and Kathryn’s dynamics on screen left me wanting to see more team-ups from them in the future.
I can’t go without mentioning the admirable performance from Cole Sprouse as The Creature. The fact that most of his part was played silently had me swooning and I quite enjoyed his fashion montage. I also loved witnessing Lisa’s sewing skills utilized to repair his missing limbs. I wanted to love Lisa Frankenstein, sadly I wished that it would have been stitched together slightly differently.