Lisa Frankenstein (2024) Review

 "That's really weird, Lisa."
-Taffy



Lisa (Kathryn Newton), a social outcast, accidentally brings the corpse of a young man (Cole Sprouse) from the Victorian Era back to life.  As Lisa helps put him back together, the re-animated creature falls in love with her and is willing to kill to prove it.


What Works:

This movie is an absolute vibe.  The music, lighting, and general style of the film are very specific and right up my alley.  Not everyone is going to appreciate the look and feel of this movie, but I'm one of the few that absolutely do. 

The performances are pretty bat-shit insane across the board.  You can tell from the trailer that Kathryn Newton gives a crazy performance, and she's really great, but it's not just her.  Even the "normal" characters are strange.  The dialogue choices are pretty wild.  That can probably be attributed to screenwriter Diablo Cody.  It's par for the course for her, but it helps make all of the characters memorable.  It's not just the Lisa show.

I have to give special mention to Cole Sprouse due to the Creature's inability to speak.  Using just his physicality, Sprouse gives an excellent performance.  He's sweet, funny, and relatable, even if he can occasionally be murderous.  It's very impressive work.

Finally, this movie really gets the blend of horror and comedy right, at least it's how I like my horror-comedies.  It's very funny and stays funny even when it gets dark.  It's the type of movie where sometimes it feels wrong to laugh.  It's a delicate tonal balance and when a movie pulls it off, I love it.  I know a lot of people don't think this movie gets it right, but I disagree.


What Sucks:

The writing and story structure of this film is insane.  Diablo Cody certainly does unique work and I think, a lot of the time, the insanity of the writing works to the movie's benefit, but not all of the time.  There are moments that are just so bizarre structurally that it hurts the movie.  Maybe that will change for me on the rewatch, but I think it's the main reason a lot of people aren't into this film.


Verdict:

I loved Lisa Frankenstein.  It's definitely getting a mixed reception, but it's such a bizarre vibe movie that I think everyone should check this one out and form your own opinion.  You might love it!  The performances are wonderful and it's very funny, even with the dark subject matter.  It's a fun time, even if the writing is all over the place.  So far, it's my favorite movie of 2024 and it has definitely got it going on.

 9/10: Great 

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