Lisa Frankenstein: A Cheesy Take on the OG Horror Giant

To the naked eye, Lisa Frankenstein could appear to be a cheesy teen comedy, reminiscent of some of the hilariously bad, direct to streaming flics we have been dealt in recent years, and to some, it will be. The film leans heavily into the 80’s material they’re attempting to parody and pull reference from, with amped up, campy acting and writing to match, and I am sure for some viewers that would be an immediate turn off. But for me, personally, that’s the type of film I’ll almost always unironically enjoy, and in the case of Lisa Frankenstein, it all (to varying degrees) worked well to create a very fun viewing experience.

I should say, whilst cheesy teen comedies, especially ones that add in a murderous twist, are guaranteed to get some level of enjoyment out of me, I was sceptical going into the film and nervous to see how it would play out. Admittedly, some of my reservations came at the knowledge that Cole Sprouse would be playing one of the leads, Lisa’s zombie creation, and this was largely due to the actors seven year stint on the internet’s favourite show to hate, Riverdale. However, I am pleased to say that I think the actors tenure on the CW show aided in the camp and eccentric levels of his performance. The character demands weird movements and facial expressions due to being almost entirely mute for the film, besides grunts and groans, and Sprouse does this brilliantly. He isn’t afraid to lean into the wackiness Diablo Cody, the director, so heavily lays out over the course of the film, and he does an amazing job of making the audience forget about past performances, something difficult for some high profile actors known for specific roles like he is.

Whilst Cole Sprouse was great in his role, it would be a disservice not to spend time on the standout lead performance of Kathryn Newton as Lisa. I have seen many online discuss how the character of Lisa almost seems tailor made for Newton and I couldn’t agree more, the actress does an exceptional job at delivering the perfect amounts of kookiness that is asked of her and the character. Lisa could have easily become one note at moments if played by someone else, but Kathryn Newton manages to add levels to the character, giving nuance to the weird and wacky themes of the film. It is because of Newton’s performance that the film manages to stay on course, going off the rails when it needs to, whilst still staying controlled because of her and the character of Lisa.

I will say, there were moments in the film that didn’t quite land in my opinion, with the last twenty minutes feeling slightly rushed with not enough explanation given to justify the stakes by the end of the film. However, it is the performances and the moments where this film goes full-blown camp and absurd that makes up for this. Do I believe this to be a perfectly made film, deserving of unanimous praise and awards? No. But what I will say is that if you are looking for a film that understands its goal of being unapologetically camp and bizarre, and achieves this, then Lisa Frankenstein is undeniably the film for you!