The cinematic biosphere: constantly changing, constantly evolving, and constantly destroying. Throughout history, film trends have come and gone like the passing of the wind. From propaganda shorts to 3-D, to even “pandemic films,” most of these trends will probably not be missed, but a few might be making a comeback, one of these being the classic “dark rom-com.”
First made popular by Michael Lehmann’s “Heathers” in 1988 and Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands” in 1990 (both happen to star Winona Ryder), the dark rom-com subgenre is famous for twisting the notably sappy, predictable formula of romantic comedies into a crude, cruel husk with just the right amounts of whimsy, charisma, and actual heart. That happens to be the same formula followed for Zelda William’s “Lisa Frankenstein.”
Released on Feb. 9, this film had a lot of things going for it right off the bat. It was written by Diablo Cody (the mastermind behind “Jennifer’s Body” and “Juno”), it starred rising Scream Queen, Kathryn Newton and the only decent actor on “Riverdale,” Cole Sprouse, and it was directed by Zelda “the Daughter of Robin Williams” Williams. That triple threat was enough for me to get hyped to watch this months before its theater release.
However, despite my previous thoughts that I wasn’t alone in my hype, my dad and I were, in fact, alone in that theater. Despite the underwhelming moviegoing experience, that did not stop me from loving this film.
Set in the year 1989, we see the tail end of the greatest decade through the smoky, heavily contoured eyes of Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton). Swallows is a character that mashes together the most well known tropes of goth girls (dead mom, daddy issues, fishnets galore) to make the perfect angsty protagonist with a sucky life. Her sucky life includes the facts that her only real friend is her step-sister Taffy (Liza Soberano), her stepmother Janet (Carla Gugino) is a verbally abusive hell beast, and her dad Dale (Joe Chrest, who also happens to play Ted Wheeler in “Stranger Things”) is a do-nothing homebody.
However, one thing seems to bring our grief-stricken heroine joy, visiting the local bachelor’s cemetery. Lisa is mostly infatuated with one corpse in particular, a young Victorian pianist (Cole Sprouse, simply referred to in the credits as The Creature) who is miraculously electrocuted back to life by a bolt of green lighting. Once Lisa becomes aware of his newfound life (well, he made her aware by breaking into her house), she makes it her gruesome mission to patch him back up into the boyfriend she’s never had.
Aesthetically, this film is a marvel to view. From the set design, to the costuming, to the cinematography, it’s as 80s throwback as you can get. Every actor is also fully committed to the nostalgic bit, going full ham and dramatic to give their characters a whole new level of heightened reality. The clever quips and subtle pitch black jokes featured in the script may not be everyone’s style, but then again, it was people’s style back in ‘89. (Yes, I was probably born in the wrong decade, don’t judge me.)
Overall, “Lisa Frankenstein” is a little more than a simple nostalgia-bait throwback, it’s a love letter. A heavily bloodstained love letter to the touchy teen topics of “Heathers” and the gothic fantasy of “Edward Scissorhands.” It’s a great way to introduce the younger generation to what their parents found to be cult classics, and despite its lackluster box office, I have hope that it will join those ranks very soon.
Score: 4/5 Stars
