If you’ve longed for a film that felt like a rom-com made by Tim Burton, Lisa Frankenstein is the answer to your prayers. I hoped for horror camp going into this film, and it exceeded my expectations – from the big crimped hair to the bold colours and over-the-top murder scenes, Lisa Frankenstein is pure chaotic fun. More than anything though, it’s a love story that is equal parts sweet, strange, and compelling. Lisa Frankenstein is destined to become a cult classic alongside films like Heathers and Edward Scissorhands, beloved for years to come.
Our protagonist, Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton), is a quiet loner with a dramatic past. A few years prior to the start of the film, a man broke into her home and brutally murdered her mother. Despite her heavy backstory, Lisa herself is whimsical and comedic throughout. However, she does have some strange tendencies – like visiting a graveyard in the middle of the forest, ‘Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery’, and talking to the deceased (‘That’s really weird, Lisa’, her step-sister Taffy (Lisa Soberano) comments). She favours one in particular, likely because of the handsome statue that stands on top of a tombstone reading ‘Mr. Frankenstein’. For reasons unknown – suspension of disbelief becomes necessary from the moment the magical tanning bed makes its first appearance – the corpse from her favourite tombstone rises from the dead after lightning from a mysterious storm strikes it. He stumbles out of his grave to find Lisa and they quickly form a close bond – part of which involves murdering people and stealing their body parts for the Creature, who is missing quite a few important ones.
At the start of the film, Lisa doesn’t have any real connections in her life. She doesn’t seem to have any friends, her relationship with her stepmother is fraught, and her dad, played by Joe Chrest, is every bit as absent and useless in this film as he is in Stranger Things. The only person she seems to somewhat get along with is her step-sister, Taffy, a bubbly cheerleader/pageant winner who opposes Lisa in every way. However, while Taffy seems to have patience with Lisa, she clearly agrees with the general opinion that Lisa is weird. We only start to see beyond her shy exterior when she meets the Creature, to whom she quickly opens up. While her motivations are somewhat mysterious at times, Lisa is a charming and endearingly strange protagonist that you can’t help but root for, even as her decisions became increasingly unhinged.
The horror aspects of this film mesh perfectly with the light, comedic tone that holds up throughout. There’s a moment of shock when the Creature commits his first murder; but somehow it doesn’t bring down the mood, with the pair’s growing tally of murders mostly treated as an annoying inconvenience. The Creature seems to have more guilt about it than Lisa herself, who skips remorse in favour of worrying about being locked up before she loses her virginity (much to the Creature’s dismay). Other details work to counteract the darker aspects of the film as well; clearly taking place in the ’80s; the bright colours and classic songs soften the dark edges of this film, creating a feeling of nostalgia and comfort.
Beyond the camp and the aesthetics, what really makes this film is Lisa’s relationship with the Creature. Although he doesn’t speak for essentially the entire story, Cole Sprouse is strangely charismatic as a living corpse, even at his most decrepit. It would be an entirely different film if he did speak, and likely a worse one. Sprouse does an excellent job of portraying his character’s thoughts and emotions through expressions and occasional zombie noises. His character is steady throughout; he’s a bleeding heart, a romantic, and a passionate musician willing to play, ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore’ on the piano as Lisa sings in pyjamas. The chemistry between he and Lisa is immediately apparent, and the friendship they form feels genuine. They protect each other throughout the entire film; and even though their methods of protecting each other frequently involve killing people, it’s still really sweet.
Admittedly, this film won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s one of the strangest films you’ll ever see; but for its intended audience, Lisa Frankenstein is campy gothic rom-com perfection.
In cinemas nationwide now