By: Sophie Cagnoli
Lisa Frankenstein is a hauntingly twisted horror-romance-comedy that’s sure to leave audiences breathless. This edgy retelling of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein takes place in the late 80s, with bold and colors costumes, with set dressing to match.
For fans of Cole Sprouse and the writers behind classics like Juno and Jennifer’s Body, this movie is a perfect introduction to Zelda Williams, being her debut movie as a director. Just how much love and personal attention Williams put into this quirky flick clearly shines through in its unique style and incredible quality, despite a relatively small budget of just 13 million dollars for a feature length film. For comparison, Argylle, another recent live-action feature length film, had a budget of 200 million dollars, and wasn’t nearly as well received, with Rotten Tomatoes ratings of only 33%.
The story opens on a shifty shadow puppet animation, giving the audience all the exposition they could ever need or ask for and finally, introducing the titular character, Lisa Swallows, a strange, morose teenager who finds more comfort with corpses than the living, ever since her tragic past turned her life upside down.
In fact, Lisa has a favorite corpse: Frankenstein, who, by some miraculous turn of events, ends up coming to life and following Lisa home. The majority of the plot of the movie consists of Lisa’s classic struggle to survive high school life and end up with the boy of her dreams: Michael Trent.
The Creature, on the other hand, in its quest to collect “spare” parts to put himself back together and be whole, cuts pieces from the people in Lisa’s life who displease and threaten her. Lisa’s involvement in these murders lights a fire under her and she realizes her ultimate goal: don’t die a virgin.
All in all, through cop chases, monster love, 80s flair, and one magical tanning bed, this movie is one for the ages. The film was released all the way back in February as a cute little gory romcom for Valentine’s Day dates, but is now available for streaming on Apple TV and Prime Video.
This movie takes relatable, teenager-y experiences, then turns everything upside down.
Photo from: DigitalSpy.com
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