'Lisa Frankenstein' Movie Review: The Goth Romance I Didn't Know I Needed
Diablo Cody has done it again. I remember that feeling of giddiness after watching Jennifer’s Body in theaters in 2009, just drunk on the magic of cinema. That is, until my editors at the college paper chastised me for being “too nice” in a review about a movie that everyone else seemed to hate. I didn’t care about the bad reviews then, and I don’t care about them now.
Cody seems to have a knack for writing deeply polarizing films - Jennifer’s Body, Juno, Lisa Frankenstein. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that each of these “polarizing” films happens to examine the complexities and complications of being a teenage girl, and in particular, one that is not the most “likable” and/or doesn’t conform to society's expectations of them.
Lisa Frankenstein, from director Zelda Williams, follows Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton), a goth loner left traumatized and damn near mute after her mother’s untimely - and quite brutal - death. She’s the black sheep in her new Coraline-ass pink house, with an evil stepmother, Janet (played by the always enchanting Carla Gugino), a bubbly, cheerleader stepsister, Taffy (in an electric performance by Liza Soberano), and her father, Dale (played by Joe Chrest, whose character is about as oblivious and uninterested as the dad he plays in Stranger Things). Janet takes on the role of disciplinarian for her new stepdaughter, like a sexy Nurse Ratched, while Taffy seems to be making a genuine effort to bond.
The rest of the town shrugs Lisa off, calling her odd, not unlike the judgy townspeople from the beginning of Beauty and the Beast. The only place Lisa feels comfortable in her new town is at Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery, where she funnels her creativity into daydreaming about a young man who is buried there. After a particularly violent storm, that young man rises from the ground to become “The Creature,” played beautifully by Cole Sprouse. Yes, I said beautifully, because he honestly takes a decaying, bug-filled corpse and turns it into a charming, piano-playing romantic. Lisa Frankenstein is a gothic romance, but in the vein of Heathers and Edward Scissorhands, with a touch of John Hughes.
The costumes for this movie are pitch perfect, and I am already - like I assume many are - planning to be one or multiple of them for Halloween this year (and I cannot wait to buy a hair crimper.). Taffy is earnest and honest, like if Lloyd Dobler were a final girl who looks like an 80s movie villain. Nothing can quite top the one-liners in Heathers, but Lisa Frankenstein sure makes the effort with lines like, “Taffy says it’s a waste of time to try and fix a boy. It’s better to just accept a guy’s flaws,” and “She could probably even do pageants, if she had congeniality.” One of my favorites, of course, is from an exasperated cop who says, “I really hope this goth phase ends soon.” [“It’s not a phase!”]
Look, it’s definitely not a movie that’s going to be for everybody. And I understand that. But Heathers is also not for everyone, and it’s one of my favorite movies of all time. Lisa Frankenstein definitely has that biting and witty energy, without trying to be Heathers. It’s very Frankenstein, but made for Millennial women almost specifically? It’s ridiculous and campy and wild, and while watching it I couldn't help but wonder, “Did someone read my thoughts and pick out just all the shit that I specifically would love?”
I love Kathryn Newton. I love Carla Gugino. I love the aesthetics of Edward Scissorhands. I love tongue-in-cheek, campy horror. I love clever one-liners and small jokes that might not get a big laugh, but stick with you, and make you think later, “Oh, that was good one.” I love goth shit, but I also love whimsy. I am obsessed with this movie, just like I was obsessed with Jennifer’s Body when that came out, and also now. It’s being marketed as a “coming of RAGE love story,” which is kind of perfect, seeing as “hell is a teenage girl.” Horror is just such a great venue for processing the messy and nebulous feelings that come with being a teenager.
I love when a movie has a female director, and you can tell, because there’s just that warm, gooey center of validation baked right in - the acknowledgment of the shitty things we go through as women, encouragement to embrace our own weirdness, and the space to process uncomfortable feelings, like the ones you’d have after dealing with a guy like Doug. Lisa Frankenstein nails that vibe, like a melty chocolate chip cookie dressed like a poison apple. It’s giving that viral Lady Gaga quote, “I don’t believe in the glorification of murder… I do believe in the empowerment of women.”
Like many horror movies, Lisa Frankenstein also spends a bit of time tackling the complexity of grief. Everyone likes to say "time heals all wounds," but Lisa disagrees. She says "time is the wound," because it just takes you farther away from when you were happy. It's a poignant sentiment, albeit a bit bleak, but it's no record scratch. The film is paced well, hopping between moments of catharsis and pure absurdity to balance out the tone.
I'm calling it now - Lisa Frankenstein is the next cult classic. Some of the best art isn't appreciated in its time, so I'm going to be loud with my feelings about this film. I could not recommend it more, if you are open to suspending disbelief and just surrendering to the bizarrely beautiful experience. Lisa Frankenstein is in theaters now, and will hopefully be released on DVD soon enough, because this is the kind of movie that deserves the security of physical media.
Get tickets to Lisa Frankenstein now!
