Horror Rom-Com Lacks Electricity

(032124) Lisa Frankenstein is a new film with an interesting retro look that tries to capture the flavor of such creepy/scary cult favorites as Deadly Friend or Weird Science and the infinitely more successful Heathers or Edward Scissorhands.

Lisa Frankenstein is an example of a relatively new subgenre called Paranormal Romance which came out of young adult fiction. It usually aimed toward young women and the stories often feature a young female who falls for a monstrous boyfriend such as a vampire, werewolf, ghost or zombie. The genre is focused on romance, but it has elements of speculative fiction or science fiction sci-fi and/or horror mixed in. Typically, it has less gore and it is focused more on male/female relations and the day-to-day life of a teen female than typical horror stories. The classic examples of the genre are Twilight and the Sookie Stackhouse novels plus their film and/or adaptations. My favorite film entry in the genre was the zombie/human romance Warm Thoughts, which I was prepared to hate but won me over.

Lisa Frankenstein is one of the lesser entries in the current spate of Frankenstein film revivals. Others include the Turkish mini-series: Creature, the recent smash Oscar nom Poor Things, and the proposed high-profile Frankenstein which will be directed by Guillermo Del Toro which is currently scheduled to feature: Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth, Maggie Gyllenhaal and others.

Lisa Frankenstein has some very good aspects but unfortunately it only seems to work half the time. The film is almost always interesting to look at, filled with many nice looking but ultimately pointless cemetery scenes. Which is great if that’s your thing but adds nothing to the narrative past a point. It was supposed to be a hip horror-tinged rom-com and it is in the end it is simply not funny, romantic or scary enough. It also lacks both the manic energy and surreal special effects of a film like Renfield or the artistry of a purer horror film like The Witch. It is reminiscent of bland 70s jazz fusion. The way that the genres are combined dilutes the power of each. It also has the same main problem as World War Z. It is increasingly difficult to scare, surprise or shock audiences who have seen so much gore and torture porn with the confines of a PG 13 rated film.

You would think that since it takes place in the late 80s and early nineties, we would hear some great music because after all this was the era when alt rock ruled. But instead we get treated to multiple renditions of the excremental “Can’t Fight that Feeling” by the bland, corporate rock band REO Speedwagon. In all fairness we do get to hear some fine stuff by Galaxie 500 and the Zombies (who fit the theme of the film).

What the film does have is interesting female relationships. The two mismatched stepsisters (Lisa is dark and gloomy while Taffy is bright and cheerful) who are in many ways opposites are fascinating to watch. They have a similar kind of chemistry as the Addams Family Wednesday character and her cheerful werewolf roommate in the Wednesday Netflix series (I can see many in that film’s audience liking this film).

Lisa Frankenstein was directed by newcomer, Zelda Williams (the daughter of the late Robin Williams) who has problems finding the right blend of horror, dark humor and comedy. Unlike Evil Dead or Heathers, the blend here does not mix or go down well. Although she misses the mark this time, Williams definitely has some talent and I would like to see how she fares in her future projects.

The film was written by the clever blogger Diablo Cody who also served as the movie’s co producer. I have been devouring and enjoying her written works for years. She wrote a terrific novel called Candy: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper as well as a darkly humorous essay about why she hates summer,
She also wrote the Megan Fox horror vehicle, Jennifer’s Body (named after the classic Hole song) which has become a cult favorite. In an interview she suggested that that that film and this one take place in the same universe, but there are no hints of this in the film itself. Maybe someday we can see the so-called creature from this film tangle with a female demon from Jennifer’s Body or perhaps we will get a female werewolf film this universe.

The film stars Lisa (Kathryn Newton) who is much more likeable and photogenic here than she was in Antman: Quantumania where she played the insufferable super brat, Cassie Lang. She got her start on TV, and some might remember her from her role on Supernatural as well as Lovely Little Liars. She plays a nerdy and unpopular high school girl who struggles to find happiness after the unexpected death of her mother. Since then, her dad has married an abusive second wife, Janet (Carla Gugino) who of course she detests. She also clashed with her new ultra-popular song social climber, Taffy who dedicates her every waking moment to staying popular.

Lisa Swallows (can you think of a more humiliating name?) has a mostly dreary, joyless life and she works as Laundromat seamstress. She spends her free time visiting the grave of a young man who was killed hundreds of years ago by a streak of green lightning and it’s clear she’s infatuated with him. I guess you could say she has a dead love life. But her loneliness ends when some lighting reanimates the Victorian era male corpse (played by Cole Sprouse). He seems like he’d be the ideal dream date for a lonely Goth girl and he immediately takes a liking to her. The two become a couple, and she helps him find replacement body parts and he eliminates people who give Lisa a hard time.

Her rotting zombie Prince Charming is unnamed in the film but he is credited as the creature which is what the Monster is also called in the Frankenstein novel. He’s missing a few body parts including an ear. Lisa’s evil step mom (who seems inspired by the one in Cinderella) blames her for some property damage the creature caused, and she threatens to send Lisa to boarding school. When the monster overhears, he slays the step mom and gets his replacement ear. The 90’s Marvel character Terror Inc was also a corpse who needed replacement parts, all a coincidence I'm sure..

More murders occur but because of the circumstances the couple always comes off sympathetic. But by the time the film ended (it is at least short) end I really didn’t care much about the fate of the gothy couple all that much. Maybe I’m old fashioned but for me having a partner who needs to kill to replace his rotting organs would be a deal breaker.

While the film, like the creation in it, has some good parts, there is nothing particularly distinctive or outstanding about it aside from the visuals. So, it is recommended only to die hard lovers of paranormal romances (Twilight, Warm Bodies and the HBO Series True Blood). The film was released on Valentine’s Day, but it apparently failed to draw enough emo or gothy romantic couples which I assume was the target audience. It went streaming pretty quickly and now it can be seen on but it is also currently playing in selected theatres. To be honest I am much older than the target demographic and younger people are more likely to appreciate it more than me. If I was an alienated 15-year-old girl this might be my favorite movie.