B Movies Blog

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping Zelda Williams’s Lisa Frankenstein into the ol’ VCR. 

Okay, listen, I don’t think any of us are surprised at how much I love this movie. 

But, I will give everyone kudos because I think the trailer does an excellent job of hiding key pieces of the storyline. 

I’m not trying to spoil this movie for anyone who doesn’t want it spoiled, but I can’t talk about Lisa Frakenstein the way I want to without revealing some plot points that are absent in the trailer. 

If you want to watch the movie first, I understand! 

We’ll give you some time to get your tickets, go to your local theater, and come back to your phone. 

Ready? 

Okay. 

Shoutout to the woman beside me who whispered to her friend, “Oh, I get it, because she sews!” when this scene happened 

It is I, your friendly, neighborhood Dead Mom girl here to talk to you, yet again, about various cinematic representations of grief. 

One of the big plot points (it’s revealed around 10 minutes in, so I don’t feel too bad) is that…drumroll please… 

Lisa’s mom was murdered. After her mother’s death, her dad quickly remarried and moved her to a new house in a new town for her senior year of high school. 

Yes, friends, Lisa Frakenstein is not just an homage to older Tim Burton movies and classics like Weird Science. It’s an examination of grief. 

And yes, I’ve already added Lisa Swallows to my list of costumes for October, thank you 

Throughout the film, Lisa (Kathryn Newton) discusses her grief and how she felt as though everyone was happy to move on; however, they continuously judge her for mourning her mother. 

Her dad operates in a haze. When her stepmom, Janet (Carla Gugino), goes missing, her dad, Dale (Joe Chrest), can’t even tell the police what Janet’s hair or eye color are. Dale just wants to move past his deceased wife’s (Jennifer Pierce Mathus) murder at any cost. 

There’s no examination of feelings, and at no point in the movie does he ever check in with Lisa. Dale never sees the obvious, and my interpretation is that he finds bliss in his ignorance. Lisa, who was home and heard her mother’s murder, I might add, is left to deal with her grief alone.  

I’ve seen some criticism of the characters being flat, but I have to disagree. Goddamn, can Diablo Cody write complex female characters and break down complicated female dynamics. 

Additionally, Diablo Cody tends to use her characters as a vessel to tell a story as opposed to shaping a story around her characters. 

I also think that some of the characters are purposely written as two-dimensional a) as an homage to the “weirdo” movies of the 1980s where the only characters with dimension were the leads and b) to make them satirical. 

I could be wrong, but judging off of Diablo Cody’s other work, I believe all of the characters were crafted with intention. 

I digress. 

I sincerely love this movie. In fact, I’ll more than likely go see it again. If this movie had come out when I was in high school, I would’ve made it my entire personality and been insufferable. 

The Creature (Cole Sprouse) looks like a guy I would’ve secretly liked in high school and compulsively journaled about. 

You either get it or you don’t 

The soundtrack is perfect. 

The dream sequence is so well-done; the almost-film-minor in me was rock hard. 

There are so many little details that I geeked out over. 

The writing is clearly incredible. 

I could go on and on. 

Do I think other people are going to love this movie as much as I did? I think it’ll vary. 

I don’t think it’s going to be as divisive as, say, Saltburn, but I don’t know if my love of this movie will put me in the minority or majority. 

I also think it’s extremely telling that Lisa Frakenstein and All of Us Strangers are two of my favorite movies of the year thus far. 

I promise I’m okay. 

And don’t worry, Final Destination 3 scared me away from tanning beds for the rest of my life. 

P.S. Pay attention to the name of the tanning bed