The ’80s are alive! THEY’RE ALIVE (sorry I couldn’t resist). Honestly, it’s been a while since we’ve seen a movie like Lisa Frankenstein: a tribute to Tim Burton, Georges Méliès, and the ’80s all rolled into one. The directorial debut of Zelda Williams, with a biting and hilarious script from Diablo Cody, this is a fun, dark, and oddly cute movie that’s not afraid to let its freak flag fly! And that rareness makes it even more special when a film like this comes along.
Is Lisa Frankenstein a perfect film? Not by a long shot. But why does it need to be? The protagonists are far from perfect. Their lives is far from ideal. And this movie is a terrific reflection about how imperfection can be incredibly welcome.
The film centers around Lisa (Kathryn Newton). A macabre high school outcast, grieving the death of her mother, who was axe murdered by a madman years before. Lisa’s father remarried the definition of an evil stepmother (the wonderful Carla Gugino), and in the marriage inherited a ditzy and vapid, but well meaning, stepsister (breakout star Liza Soberano — more on her later). Lisa has developed something of an obsession with the grave site of a dead young man, and in the midst of an unnatural electrical storm, lightning hits the grave and brings him back to life. From there, they form a friendship defined by loneliness, music, secrets, and of course, murder.
Williams is a romantic. No, not the romcom type of romantic (though there’s a natural twisted romcom aspect to this). I mean she’s an artist with a bleeding heart and a love of cinema. And that is apparent in every frame of Lisa Frankenstein. She unapologetically directs this movie with her instincts and the film is better for it. From the decisions she makes regarding how she tells the monster’s backstory, to the surreal dream sequences, her choices and dark visuals are gorgeous and full of character. The result starts out almost like a Laika film before developing into a dark Heathers-ish twisted comedy.
And that’s the perfect approach and match for Cody’s script. The writing is twisted, and quirky. Now some may think Cody’s dialogue is too precocious for its own good, and there’s not a lot of subtlety — especially when it comes to the “wicked stepmother” stuff. But this is, in a way, a dark fairy tale. So it makes sense. And she’s actually able to straddle the line between endearing and sick and hilarious, which is difficult to do. She makes the characters likable despite them sometimes having many unlikable qualities. Combining this with Williams’ confident macabre direction allows for the movie to be acerbic and acidic, but cute, without ever overstaying it’s welcome.
One of the things I love about both Williams’ and Cody’s voices are that they’re excellent at conveying the challenges of being a teenage woman (for the record nothing at all I could ever truly speak to, so apologies if it seems like I’m attempting). Starting with the struggles with parents, challenges with crushes, the horrors of horny teenage boys trying to take advantage, all of it feels authentic and tragic at times too. And to embody that in a character who has essentially suppressed the trauma she’s suppressed from her mother’s murder; you understand why she is the way she is, and this makes Lisa so sympathetic and human, in a movie that’s truly fantastical.
From a performance standpoint, the film’s leads, Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse are quite adorable. Sprouse in particular is able to do a lot with no dialogue. And Newton is really endearing. If there’s one complaint I have about her though it’s that at times she has too much energy for a role like this. I feel a character obsessed with death, traumatized by the murder of her mother should not be brightly singing REO Speedwagon songs. So it was a bit much at times, and somewhat contradictory to how the film sets her up. But that’s not to say she isn’t charming and likable overall. It’s a tough role to sell, and she sells the hell out of it.
All that said, there is one scene stealer that walks away with the movie, almost single-handedly: and that’s Soberano. This is her first American film, and she is a powerhouse! She’s perky and hilarious. As Taffy, Soberano displays the perfect amount of energy to play the exact antithesis of Lisa. She is a mean girl on the surface but has a great heart and tries to do right by her sister as best as she can. It is difficult to make us like this character from the things she says. But between how she’s written and Soberano’s stellar performance, she becomes the breakout character for the film in a breakthrough performance that I hope folks will take notice of.
It must also be noted that the soundtrack for this film, and how Williams uses the song selections, is spectacular. Despite my complaints about REO Speedwagon, the assortment of ’80s bangers here perfectly matches the tone, characters, and narrative. It adds to the quirkiness of this movie and creates a truly immersive ’80s experience.
I think for some the tonal shifts and surreal sequences could be jarring. So I can see some criticisms there. But people need to remember what sort of movie Williams is going for. And, as someone who got it, I was perfectly on board with all of it, because it took me back to the gothic aesthetics of younger Tim Burton. And for this reason, I honestly think Lisa Frankenstein deserves its place among cult classics like Heathers, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and of course, Cody’s own Jennifer’s Body. It’s macabre, funny, and most of all fun, with really terrific performances all around, and a lovely soundtrack.
Well done Zelda Williams on a confident and strong debut! And to Lisa Frankenstein as a movie, overall. Regardless of how this movie does commercially or critically, in the words of REO Speedwagon, I’m gonna keep on lovin’ you!
Overall Score: B+