Rating: 5/5 stars

“Lisa Frankenstein” hit theaters this past weekend, leaving an undead bite on audiences’ hearts. The story is a twisted retelling of Frankenstein’s monster and Frankenstein’s monster’s bride—this story does not need an old mad scientist to make things happen. Lisa (Kathryn Newton, “Freaky”) is a disturbed teenager with a bloody past; after being drugged at a party she attended with her stepsister, Taffy (Liza Soberano, “Dolce Amore”), Lisa makes a wish to be with the handsome young man whose statue she fawns over in the graveyard. When her wish comes true, Lisa has to deal with The Creature (Cole Sprouse, “Riverdale”) as they embark on a bloody journey to rebuild him part by part. 

The movie’s atmosphere being a mix between a fun teen movie and a slasher thriller is what drew me originally to the storyline. Director Zelda Williams (“Girl In The Box”) emphasized the late ‘80s/early ‘90s setting right from the get-go with a fantastic soundtrack featuring songs from Jefferey Osborne (“On the Wings of Love”), The Chameleons (“Second Skin”) and When In Rome (“The Promise”). Other references were made to the time with props and set dressing: the excessive use of hairspray, unsafe tanning beds, bad special effects and even obvious product placement. It truly felt as if we had just been thrown into the middle of a teenage girl’s life. Costumes even had their own modern twist, mainly some of the outfits chosen for Newton’s character. Lisa’s wardrobe quickly changes from preppy nerd to trad goth with the transformation of her personality and newfound confidence given to her by The Creature. Combined with the atmosphere of the set, another tool that made the supernatural aspect work was the cinematography. What we see and how we see it is reflected through Lisa’s perspective, so when our main character is in a drugged state or feeling a certain intense emotion, we get to see what everything looks like to her. 

The best aspect was the use of multiple different ‘90s tropes that all so gracefully worked together: the choosing between two loves trope, the “fish out of water” trope, the unbothered neighbors, the evil stepmother and so many more. Williams introduced a moral dilemma into it all as well, taking Newton’s character away from the girl who doesn’t know how to handle the results of getting what she wished for and turning her into the female manipulator who knows full well the extent of her actions and refuses to stop until she reaches her goal. Kathryn Newton plays the psycho well, her ability to conceal her emotions works so well with Lisa and her deceptiveness towards her loved ones. In a turning point for Newton’s character, she delivers the line “We can’t, not until we bury the body” in the most iconic way possible. It changes what we thought we knew about Lisa. Speaking of big names in the film, Cole Sprouse was also handed a nontraditional role and delivered a breathtaking performance on a silver platter. Forced to be completely nonverbal for his entire time on screen, Sprouse was forced to rely on means of body language and grunts to relay The Creature’s thoughts and emotions. Overall, you would think he was just a corpse that someone resurrected and threw onto a movie set.

Overall, this movie did not disappoint in the slightest. Despite it only being PG-13, any young adult with an interest in alternative subcultures or a love for bloody romance would love this comedy. There was no lack of creativity or inappropriate humor when it came to “Lisa Frankenstein,” and it deserves to receive proper recognition in the future as more blockbuster films are set to be released this year. 

Image from Dad Grass via Pexels