Mish-mash of ideas just fails to electrify Leading duo the aces up its sleeve
Lisa Frankenstein is Juno writer Diablo Cody’s first movie script in six years – and her take on the Mary Shelley Gothic classic is exactly what you would expect it to be.
Described as a “coming of rage love story”, Kathryn Newton stars as Lisa, a teenager who accidentally resurrects Cole Sprouse’s Creature.
In only her second time behind the camera for a full-feature flick, director Zelda Williams treats us to colourful, often neon, visuals and a late 80s setting packed with big hair, terrific tunes and, erm, dismembered body parts.
The tone is very similar to the Codyscripted Jennifer’s Body and, like that 2009 film, Lisa Frankenstein gets stuck in the middle of its horror-comedy trappings.
It’s rarely either hilarious or terrifying and, as a result, never really gets out of third gear.
The true aces up the flick’s sleeves are Newton and Sprouse. The former defies her social misfit status to earn our admiration and sympathy and the latter proves a dab hand at physical comedy and saying much without uttering a word – unless grunts count.
There’s more to Liza Soberano’s initially vacuous Taffy than meets the eye, Carla Gugino’s Janet is the scariest thing in the movie and Joe Chrest (Dale) basically regurgitates his role from Stranger Things.
Williams doesn’t go all-out with the blood and guts, although there are a couple of cool kills, and clever use of a sun bed, and you get the sense she is more comfortable with comedic moments like Lisa choosing outfits for the Creature and the need to obtain a particular human organ to consummate their relationship.
Similar, but slightly superior to, 2013’s Warm Bodies, Lisa Frankenstein has a lot of fun ideas, and a laudable leading duo, however it doesn’t electrify enough – and lacks the scares and gore to be classed as hefty horror and the giggles to rate as cracking comedy.