Colorful retelling of Shelley’s classic takes cues from 1980s
It seems like these days, teenage girls only want one thing: a long-dead Victorian boyfriend roused from his grave by an ardent wish and a strike of lightning. He’s sweet, he’s chivalrous, his tongue has fallen off so he can’t speak — dreamboat alert! It’s a setup that’s a bit “Freaky Friday” and bit “Night of the Living Dead,” but in “Lisa Frankenstein,” writer Diablo Cody and director Zelda Williams take Mary Shelley’s iconic horror text and juice it up with “Heathers”-inspired dialogue and a romantic hero in the mold of “Edward Scissorhands.”
But this spooky 1980sset romance is thoroughly modern, and it’s about to be the new obsession of quirky teens everywhere.
The good news is that “Lisa Frankenstein” is so chockablock with references that span the gamut of film history — from the silent era to the Brat Pack years — that it might inspire younger generations to explore films outside of their comfort zone. Cody’s script may be totally ’80s and indebted to writers like Daniel Waters, John Hughes and Amy Heckerling, but director Williams, making her feature debut, has embroidered the text with her own flourishes, nodding to Georges Méliès, James Whale’s Universal monster movies and Tim Burton’s early studies of suburban absurdism.
Kathryn Newton stars as Lisa, an outcast with a tragic back story and a predilection for hanging out in the cemetery, leaving trinkets at the grave of a handsome young dead guy. She has an evil stepmother (Carla Gugino)
and a clueless father (Joe Chrest); her stepsister, Taffy (Liza Soberano), is a chipper cheerleader earnestly concerned with Lisa’s popularity, or lack thereof.
Try as she might, Taffy just can’t get Lisa to fit in, but it’s only when Lisa starts to embrace standing out that she finds her power. It’s largely thanks to her new beau, the reanimated hunk from the cemetery (Cole Sprouse), who encourages her to try on an edgy new look. He needs a makeover and a few new parts himself, so he and Lisa resort to murderous means to acquire the limbs he’s lacking.
With this performance and 2020’s “Freaky,” Newton has proven herself to be that rare starlet who seems to be a real weirdo with the face of an angel. With her long, curly mane and doleful eyes adorned with excessive makeup, she has the look of a silent film star outfitted in a wardrobe that’s Madonna by Lydia Deetz. She adopts melodramatic movement in the style of Elsa Lanchester’s performance in “Bride of Frankenstein,” combining all of
these influences for a truly memorable turn as Lisa.
Sprouse, as the wordless, devoted Creature, delivers a physical performance that is surprisingly moving. But the breakout star and true discovery of “Lisa Frankenstein” is Soberano, who has a gift for imbuing Cody’s famously clever dialogue with a sincerity that elevates the character beyond an ironic archetype as she morphs from mean teen to scream queen.
There’s enough verve in the performances and exuberant direction to carry “Lisa Frankenstein” through. Williams’ approach is refreshingly tactile and practical. Her style is a neon-Gothic splendor, combining turn-of-the-century elements with a bold ’80s color palette. Assembled lovingly from different parts, it’s Williams’ hand that flips the switch on “Lisa Frankenstein,” and make no mistake, it’s alive.
MPA rating: PG-13 (for violent content, bloody images, sexual material, language, sexual assault, teen drinking and drug content)
Running time: 1:41
How to watch: In theaters