Score: 3.5 / 5
What a delightful surprise. Pop horror and teen romance as a combo has been around for a while -- oddly enough, usually involving either zombies or vampires -- and it usually relies on references to classic literature like the teen characters would be reading in school. It was only a matter of time before another one materialized for us, and when I first heard of something called Lisa Frankenstein, I fast-tracked it into my "don't care, won't watch" lane. But as marketing started sharing names and dropping trailers, my interest piqued. So let's go step by step through why this film mesmerized me and won me over. Don't get me wrong, it's not something I'll recommend to everyone, nor is it something I'll eagerly rewatch often. But every time I thought it would zig, it zagged, and the strength of its aesthetic convictions make it far, far more than the sum of its parts. Kind of like its literary namesake.
First, and probably foremost on everyone's mind: this work was penned by Diablo Cody, the cult favorite writer of such titles as Jennifer's Body, Ricki and the Flash, Tully, Juno, and the Broadway musical Jagged Little Pill. If anyone was going to understand idiosyncratic punk-meets-princess female flavor grounded in harsh reality, it's Cody. Second, director Zelda Williams (daughter of the late Robin Williams) debuts here in stunning fashion. Literally. Her team and her vision feel perfectly suited, making the whole affair a neo-Gothic fever dream of thick stylizations and performative atmosphere (don't worry, we'll unpack that presently). Third, the cast was largely unknown to me, but their talent and dedication to the material far exceeds expectations, especially Kathryn Newton and Carla Gugino, who inject witchy energy into the funky '80s proceedings.
The combination of these elements -- and, truly, I'm not sure who to credit other than all of them working in tandem -- result in a nearly perfect example of the state of modern camp. I did not expect that, and I don't think anyone did. I'm not saying it's good camp, or even the best camp (you'd have to watch May December for that, but hold on to something), but Lisa Frankenstein manages to coalesce its various parts into a production more concerned with style than with substance, a style which strangely manages to improve its substance. Newton's Lisa is reclusive, fabulously donning Madonna-inspired getup, and her mannerisms share more in common with silent film actors, garishly melodramatic and fiendishly wanton. Her sassy descent into morbidity and sexual awakening feels borrowed from something akin to John Waters fanfiction (whose name, indeed, is used for other characters). Gugino's presence was perhaps the clearest indication of camp for me, her dark, troubling intensity belied by her candy-colored period garb and big hair.
The plot itself leaves much to be desired, though it more or less balances its often cringey laughs with genuine insight into coming-of-age Goth womanhood. Lisa -- whose last name is Swallows, which the film conspicuously drops without much comment -- was traumatized while witnessing an axe murderer butcher her mother, and now spends her time wishing for a Victorian-era gentleman caller in an abandoned cemetery. She's not liked by her classmates, and when she shows up for a party, her lab partner takes his chance to finally score with a girl. I'll note that this sequence involves nonconsensual drugging and sexual assault, and without trying to get moralistic, it felt inappropriate (and more than a little exploitative) in context of this film. Once her dream man gets resurrected via lighting, it's up to Lisa to experiment on him to bring him closer to real life. Think something like if Twilight or Beautiful Creatures had a baby with Beetlejuice or Edward Scissorhands, and you'll see where this film fits in terms of both genre and aesthetic. It never gets as violent or graphic as it could, and while I'd have liked to see the depraved depths to which this material could be taken, it's also clearly not the filmmakers' intent. They stick to their vision of teen romance, coming to terms with death and sex, and frame it in the most fitting aesthetic possible.
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