I fear that Lisa Frankenstein didn’t get the greatest reception it should have had upon first releasing last year. Then again, this happens to many films that I quite enjoy. Unlike Abigail, which began as a direct adaptation of Dracula’s Daughter, Lisa Frankenstein was not, at any point, considered to be based on any material associated with Bride of Frankenstein. Still, Lisa (Kathryn Newton) essentially gets to play Dr. Frankenstein and The Bride in this comedy-horror film, and she does so splendidly.
The story takes place in 1989 focusing on a pair of high school girls whose parents have married, with Lisa in particular steel reeling from the fact that her mother was murdered by an axe murderer two years earlier. Taffy (Liza Soberano) is a kind but very oblivious popular girl who is now Lisa’s stepsister – and her attempts at helping Lisa break out of her shell act as an impetus for Lisa’s growth later on as the story truly gets rolling.
Dale (Joe Chrest), Lisa’s father, and Janet (Carla Gugino), Taffy’s mother, are mismatched. While Dale clearly has feelings for Janet, he has become browbeaten and dedicated, and Janet’s narcissism has done wonders for Lisa’s self-esteem. As a family unit set against the backdrop of the eighties, Lisa’s internal growth of a backbone would be treated as a much more triumphant moment if this were any other genre.
Generally, it is because you would hope it will come with fewer murders.
Beyond this new family structure, Lisa also contends with what it means to be a teenage girl who is now in the shadow of popularity brought on by Taffy. The students play a small but important part in this story. While the students around her seem less inclined to care about her traumatic circumstances, some seem like they would be a great source of camaraderie – namely Doug (Bryce Romero), Lisa’s lab partner. However, everything about him is all but signposted from the moment he is introduced, making his attempt to sexually harass Lisa when she is accidentally drugged by one of the friends of the boy she has a crush on. This boy, Michael (Henry Eikenberry), is a cute, fun editor for The Grackle and is presented as a generally likable guy – knowing the main character’s name when most of the other students seem to want to ignore her is a great start, and he likes her poems. Always a plus.
But this story is not truly about Lisa’s time at school, but how she handles the compounding trauma in her life. Lisa spends much of her time at an old cemetery. After she is drugged by Michael’s friend, Tamara (Joey Bree Harris), she ends up at the tombstone of the Creature (Cole Sprouse), where she wishes she could be with him. One bolt of lightning and a bit of miscommunication on Lisa’s part, and the Creature stumbles into the Swallows family home – here to claim her love through Victorian-era flirting.
The only problem is that Lisa is so broken down emotionally at this point that she has to clarify that she had wished to be dead when she had stated that she wanted to be with him.
Yet, the Creature does not give up so easily; she comes to terms with his presence in her life by hiding him in her closet. At this point, the Creature is mute, covered in mud and debris, and missing multiple body parts, all aspects of his existence that he is ashamed of but for which Lisa does not hold against him. Then the murders begin, and the Creature can replace those attributes – granting him the ability to speak and pieces he has long since lost. Lisa doesn’t quite realize the depth of the Creature’s feelings for her at first. Still, from the moment they can truly look at one another, from an audience perspective, his feelings are more than evident. It makes Lisa’s slow realization across the second and third acts burn much more brightly.
As is usually the case in stories like this, the first murder is almost entirely an accident. Janet is the biggest obstacle to keeping the Creature hidden within the Swallows’ home. Because of the Creature’s newfound proximity, he can witness Janet’s treatment of Lisa. As she continues to browbeat, insult, and intimidate Lisa, the Creature makes his move – claiming her ear in the process, which Lisa sews onto him after she comes to grips with what happened. After all, murder is not usually the go-to solution for people’s problems, despite her shock, but helping the Creature becomes a goal for Lisa. Part of that goal is figuring out how to make the stolen ear work, bringing Taffy’s tanning bed to the fore to provide the necessary current, and reinforcing the Frankenstein motifs. Yes, the first murder was almost entirely unplanned, as was the third. Still, by the time it happens, the second one feels like the most justifiable based on how the story is handled.
The love story between Lisa and the Creature takes much of the film’s runtime to fully come to the forefront, but that doesn’t undermine its intensity. As the duo continues their murder spree, the police react with surprising efficiency to the two people missing and almost immediately single out Lisa as a person of interest. This helps to propel the love story to its final beats – no pun intended – but the threat of being torn apart takes the story in an interesting direction for its final moments. After all, it is a Frankenstein-esque story. Did anybody expect there to be a lively ending?
Lisa Frankenstein wears its heart on its sleeve. It is Zelda Williams’ feature film directorial debut, with her two previous efforts being shorts. Even if the film did not receive its due upon its initial release, don’t let that stop you from checking it out. Lisa Frankenstein offers a deft message on trauma and how leaving it unaddressed, or even more damningly having it addressed with callous disregard, can worsen one’s mental state. It also delves into themes of love, and while the Creature and Lisa aren’t explicitly in a toxic relationship, the murder spree puts a bit of a spin on it.
Lloydd Marshall Books 