A still from ‘Lisa Frankenstein’
Mary Shelley’s Frankensteinabout a scientist who brings a man to life and is unwilling to take responsibility for his actions, is a great staple of horror and science fiction movies as well as comedy. Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein (1974) in black-and-white as an affectionate tribute to the Boris Karloff movies, with bug-eyed Igor and the whinnying horse was howlarious. In the animated film series, Hotel Transylvania, Frankenstein voiced by Kevin James, was Uncle Frank to Selena Gomez’ Mavis, and best friends with Adam Sandler’s Count Drac.
Lisa Frankenstein
Director: Zelda Williams
Cast: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest, Carla Gugino
Storyline: A lonely young girl finds an unconventional friend from a different place and time
Run time: 101 minutes
Lisa Frankenstein, written by Diablo Cody, and in the same universe as Jennifer’s Body, according to Cody, seemed promising with its black-and-white title sequence. It is 1989 and an awkward, lonely teenager, Lisa (Kathryn Newton) lives with her father, Dale (Joe Chrest), step-mother, Janet, (Carla Gugino), and step-sister, Taffy, (Liza Soberano) after her (Lisa’s) mother was killed by an axe murderer.
Lisa spends a lot of time in a cemetery, particularly drawn to the gravestone of a pianist from the Victorian Age. The movie starts with Lisa and Taffy heading to a party, with Taffy giving her hints on how to be cool. At the party Lisa meets Michael (Henry Eikenberry), the editor of the school paper, who she has a big crush on. She also accidentally gets high and her lab partner Doug (Bryce Romero), hits on her. Disgusted, Lisa runs away to the cemetery and wishes she could be with the dead pianist.
One must always be careful what one wishes for, as lo and behold, there is a crack of lightning and the reanimated Creature (Cole Sprouse) shambles to Lisa’s home. He is covered in mud, missing several body parts and his tears stink something awful but on the plus side, he does not speak and is rather biddable. Lisa hides the Creature in her bedroom and the two hit upon a rather bloody way of getting the missing body parts.
Lisa Frankenstein’s genre hopping from horror homage to spoof to teen comedy to slasher flick to survivor’s guilt detracts from its watchable quotient. If only it could be one kind of movie! Some of the dialogue is touching (“time is the wound, it takes you further away from the place when you were happy”) and there are some funny moments.
The cast are all game and wade into their roles with a fair degree of pleasure. Sprouse, in another role far, far away from his interior-monologue heavy Jughead of Riverdale, has fun with different types of grunts and groans as the Creature till the end when he reads out Percy Shelley’s ‘O Mary Dear’ in a beautiful declaiming voice.
The black-and-white sections bring to mind Karloff and the more recent Poor Things. The ‘80s aesthetic in all its bright, neon glory is recreated. Lisa Frankenstein, just like the Creature, is made of serviceable parts which do not come together to form the perfect blend.
Lisa Frankenstein is currently streaming on JioCinema
