Lisa Frankenstein//October 139th, 2024

 Like many others in the spooky community this year, I decided to make Lisa Frankenstein a part of my Valloween celebration. 

The name of this movie alone caught my eye, as a child of the Lisa Frank renaissance of the 90s. I will never forget the excitement of buying more stationary than I could ever possibly use in a lifetime, for the brightly colored animals depicted on it. I was obsessed. I actually had an entire binder full of Lisa Frank folders that I refused to actually use. Honestly, it was probably the most bizarre, yet least expensive, hobby I ever had. So yes, the name of the movie alone gave me all the nostalgic pangs, even though I knew it wasn't going to be about bright fuchsia kittens and dogs the color of the blinding sun on an August afternoon. 

I waffled back and forth about whether or not I wanted to see this movie, though. Oddly enough, considering my love for Valentine's Day, romance in general tends to make me tune out of a story. And, in this post-Twilight world that we live in, romance involving what would normally be considered horror characters makes me especially nervous. And I don't even really hate Twilight...I enjoyed the books when I read them (though I was about nineteen at the time), but I can't say I'm dying to see the scenario played out over and over again with every monster archetype in existence. 

I started to see a lot of positivity toward Lisa Frankenstein, though, from people I trusted within the community, and decided, why not bring back my old Valentine tradition of an early movie and dinner, and give it a watch? 

Though I wouldn't necessarily say it's going to be a new favorite, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised for the most part.

Lisa Frankenstein is the story of a girl named Lisa Swallows (Can you imagine growing up with that as a last name?!) who, two years before the events of the movie, witnessed her mother being killed by an ax murderer during a home invasion. Lisa has suffered from a form of traumatic mutism since then, but her father seems to have moved on quickly with a narcissist-who-thinks-she's-an-empath named Janet, and Janet's daughter Taffy, who happens to be Lisa's age and is surprisingly kind despite her upbringing and uberpopularity at school. 

Lisa is very lonely, though, and tends to spend a lot of time in a local, dilapidated cemetery, making grave rubbings and talking to the deceased, particularly a man with the last name of Frankenstein, who she refers to as her "favorite". (It's good to know I'm not the only person with favorite graves!) 

One night, after a drugging incident at a party that Taffy drags her to, Lisa walks home in a strange storm, and a lightning strike somehow manages to bring her Frankenstein friend back to life. It's never fully explained how, but he wakes up, breaks into Lisa's house, and chaos of all kinds begins to ensue...But particularly murder, and a strange yet somehow perfect romance. 

It's worth noting that if this movie had actually been made in 1989, when it's set, Lisa and the Creature would most likely have been played by Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp, respectively. Though not stylized in quite the same way, the early Tim Burton vibes are strong in this movie...it's like if the innocent, doomed romance of Edward Scissorhands had a child with the silliness and obscenity of Beetlejuice. And, as a pretty much lifelong Tim Burton fan, I definitely enjoyed that aspect of it. This movie also reminded me quite a bit of the short-lived TV series Scream Queens, though it was, in my opinion, very obviously hesitant to be as over-the-top with its humor. I honestly think some of the jokes would have landed better if they'd been a little more brash and unafraid to "go there". While Lisa Frankenstein definitely crossed some lines with its humor, it was hesitant to cross some others, which confused me at times, but overall didn't take away from the experience as a whole. 

Overall, I wouldn't call it, exactly, a groundbreaking horror comedy experience, but Lisa Frankenstein was a lot of fun. Well-acted, funny, even emotional at times. It didn't exactly leave me wanting more, per se, but I'm definitely glad I didn't skip it, and will most likely watch it again, probably multiple times. I can see this being the type of movie I'd watch to wind down and have a spooky laugh after a long, stressful day, or something I'd put on to keep my energy up while cleaning, something along those lines. It's just fun, and I definitely think it has the potential to be a cult classic, and possibly even a "horror training wheels" type movie for younger teens, if their parents can handle a little crass humor. I think of how Tim Burton was sort of a "gateway" for me into horror and spookiness, and I can definitely see Lisa Frankenstein being just that for a newer generation. It's a classic teen movie, like the ones I grew up with from the 80s and 90s, but with a spooky flair. I can also see some future spooky girls taking style inspiration from Lisa. She's definitely an icon, and a perfect example of why you should always embrace your spookiest self. Lisa's evolution into the person she was always meant to be is a journey in itself. I'd idolize her if I'd seen this movie in my teens, similarly to how some of my less afraid to express themselves goth-y peers idolized Lydia Deetz.

And this movie is truly perfect for anyone who enjoys both spooky things and Valentine's Day. It could not have been more perfectly timed for the holiday, and definitely screams Valloween. Have I finally found a movie to give me all the feels of my second favorite holiday? It's quite possible! 

Stay spooky, my friends.