There’s an old meme out there that would describe any trashy romance as “still being better than ‘Twilight.’” That can’t be said about “Lisa Frankenstein.”
As one might guess, this film centers on a character named Lisa. A teenager, Lisa (Kathryn Newton) is a goth girl who is trying to move on with her life after her mother’s murder. In the present, she lives with her father, insufferable stepmother and her kind stepsister.
With her annoying stepmother at home and a lack of enjoyment at school, Lisa’s only joy comes from spending time at a small cemetery. That cemetery happens to be the resting place of a Victorian era pianist, and, through a strike of magic lightning, that musician (Cole Sprouse) comes back to life, and seeks out Lisa.
“Lisa Frankenstein” is a miserable, insufferable experience. Even at an hour and 40 minutes, this teen romance with a splash of horror feels like an absolute chore to get through. It’s certainly not because it features a bad concept, though.
Monster romance films with weird but charming relationships have worked in the past, especially in the recent decade, from the more comedic “Warm Bodies” to a dramatic take with “The Shape of Water.” Unlike those films, though, “Lisa Frankenstein” lacks an endearing central romance, effective dark comedy and, most importantly, a good main character.
It’s easy to sympathize with Lisa early in the film because of the trauma she went through, the fact she doesn’t fit in at her new school and her difficult home life. Yet that sympathy wanes fairly quickly as Lisa isn’t particularly likable and her personality seems like nothing more than that of a discount Lydia Deetz.
The way Lisa is developed over the course of the movie is a detriment as well. As the film goes on, to make her relationship with the creature work, Lisa goes down a dark path that gets fairly violent, but the movie plays it off as if she’s finding herself in an anti-hero kind of way. It tries to play it off as charming, when it’s anything but.
Had she been a bit more psychotic, in a, you know, mad scientist kind of way, it could have worked. There could still be dark comedy there if Lisa was a brainiac who brought back the creature to life herself with school science equipment, earning that “Frankenstein” name, and continued to go off the deep end as she tried to create the perfect boyfriend.
But by not having Lisa more villainous and instead trying to keep her actions seen as her character coming into her own in a macabre way, it makes an audience turn on her and find her unenjoyable to follow.
As for the creature himself, there’s not a ton to say. Cole Sprouse is mostly put into a speechless role as he stumbles around like a zombie. It’s not bad, but the silent monster in these types of romances have worked better in films like those listed above, or Aubrey Plaza in “Life After Beth.”
The issues with the characters and their journeys throughout the film is less because of the acting and was caused more by the writing. In all honesty, Diablo Cody’s work has never been a favorite of yours truly, but she’s never put out a terrible script… until now.
The writing is horrendous in “Lisa Frankenstein.” The humor never works, as it often feels like its trying too hard to get the joke across. There’s a lack of subtlety and nuance throughout the film as well, and overall it feels inauthentic and unrelatable.
Cody’s script is paired with the rough direction from Zelda Williams, and the result is a film that’s oddly paced, poorly plotted and tonally confused. To be completely fair, one can at least appreciate the attempt at recreating an 80s aesthetic, but visually the movie is flat, adding another problem.
All things considered, “Lisa Frankenstein” fails in almost everything that makes a movie worth watching, and walking out was seriously considered. 0.5 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 