In 1989, a misunderstood teenage girl accidentally reanimates a Victorian-era prince and introduces him to modern life while transforming him into the man of her dreams.
THE Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has continued to inspire unique works. After having spawned comics, songs, games and more, it is the subject of yet another cinematographic rereading, the script of which is by Diablo Cody (Juno, Jennifer’s body).
Lisa Frankensteinthe first feature film by director Zelda Williams (daughter of a certain Robin Williams), revolves around the character of Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton, seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp – Quantumania), eccentric young woman, but not very talkative, who struggles to integrate into high school. Haunted by the sordid murder of her mother that took place before her eyes, Lisa is forced to live with her father’s demanding new wife, Janet (Carla Gugino), and his bubbly daughter. cheerleader Taffy (Liza Soberano).
Frequently wandering the cemetery, Lisa encounters a monstrous undead with a Victorian appearance (Cole Sprouse, Jughead from Riverdale), mysteriously brought back to life during a storm. Once the few layers of dirt staining his face are cleaned, a jacket and a Joy Division t-shirt put on, the young man is ready to enter society… or at least, the illusion is almost perfect. The lovebirds will, one thing leads to another, develop a romance which is reminiscent of the relationship between Edward and Kim in the Edward Scissorhands by Tim Burton. Two unloved people hand in hand, against all odds.
Drawing so much from the codes of slasher only pure romantic comedy, Lisa Frankenstein suffers from this dispersion. Despite the few good ideas and the brilliant artistic direction, it is a story whose meaning is difficult to extract. The highlight of the show is undoubtedly the magnetic Kathryn Newton, who plays the character of Lisa brilliantly. Set in the late 1980s, Zelda Williams’ film manages to imitate the aesthetic of the era to perfection. Neon colors, crimped hair, fishnet stockings and kitsch visual effects: it’s all there. It gets dizzying at times.
In an interview with the magazine Rolling Stone in January, the director said she considered her film as a feminist response to the misogynist A dream creature by John Hughes (1985), in which two high school students develop software to create the “perfect woman” in order to become popular. The idea is great, but the execution just isn’t up to par.
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Horror romantic comedy
Lisa Frankenstein
Zelda Williams
Starring Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse and Liza Soberano
1:41 a.m.