Lisa Frankenstein

 

Hello everyone! I'm back with a personal favorite, and in my opinion, potential cult classic: Lisa Frankenstein. I adored this film! Beneath its teen romance intertwined with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this film explores grief, social isolation, the female gaze, and the subsequent aberrancy thrust upon those who subvert the status quo. Warning: slight spoilers ahead!

Synopsis: A misunderstood teenager and a reanimated Victorian corpse embark on a murderous journey to find love, happiness, and a few missing body parts.

Set in 1989, the film follows teen Lisa Swallows as she still struggles with the violent murder of her mother that she witnessed two years prior. Since then, her father has remarried Janet, a narcissistic woman, who has a daughter named Taffy, and they have moved to a picture-perfect suburb. It is immediately established that Lisa’s grief “others” from her new family dynamic. Taffy is a former beauty pageant winner and cheerleader. While kind, Taffy views Lisa’s morbidity as abnormal and makes thinly veiled jabs at her. Janet does nothing to hide her disdain for the grieving teen, constantly expressing that she thinks Lisa is unstable. She goes out of her way to brag about Taffy’s accomplishments and “normalcy” and orders pizza that her stepdaughter cannot eat. While Lisa still mourns and tries to hold onto the memory of her mother, everyone around her has readily forgotten her.

After attending a party with Taffy, where she is drugged and assaulted, Lisa stumbles her way to the local graveyard she routinely visits and cleans. She sits by her favorite tombstone and laments about the shitty deck of cards she’s been dealt; the tomb belongs to a young pianist who died by lightning strike in 1837.

That night, under the haze of drugs and alcohol she's been given, Lisa drifts into a surrealist dream that reveals the unique and morbid facets of her psyche. Set in black and white, the dream unfolds like a silent-era film, its stylings reminiscent of German Expressionism. Her hair is piled high in an homage to the Bride of Frankenstein and hinting at the horror ahead. Her bedroom poster of A Trip to the Moon becomes the moon outside in her dream. A photograph of her mother is present in the dream, saying “remember to wash your hands, kiddo”. The phrase subtly hints at the unresolved guilt she feels for still being alive while her mother is not. A masked murderer lurks beneath the bed, echoing her past trauma. A stone statue of the pianist sits beside her and holds her hand, signifying her romantic yearning. The dream sequence fuses Lisa’s romantic desires, cinematic obsessions, and grief. It foreshadows her transformation arc—from stifled grieving teenager to someone who embraces death as a form of freedom. The dream hints at the lines she’s about to cross and who she’s becoming.

The dream ends when a bolt of lightning strikes the pianist’s grave–reanimating him as a zombie.

The next night, while she’s home alone, the Creature breaks into Lisa’s house. Initially terrified, Lisa recognizes him and decides to hide him in her closet. The Creature is mute and missing various body parts, which makes him ashamed. The next day, Lisa claims a burglar broke into the house, leaving the mess that the Creature made. Enraged, Janet doesn’t believe her, claiming that Lisa made the mess for attention. After the Creature leaves a worm in her food, Janet again blames Lisa, threatening to send her to an asylum. As she continues to verbally assault Lisa, the Creature emerges from the closet, killing Janet and cutting off her ear.

Thus begins the pair’s murderous rampage. Throughout their spree, they collect body parts for the Creature. Lisa sews the new parts to the Creature, and revives them with Taffy’s tanning bed which also restores him to a more human appearance. As they spend more time together, Lisa begins to open up more about her feelings about her mother’s death and begins reclaiming the small joys she once loved.

Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21188080/ 

In addition to her mental state, clothing also differentiates Lisa from her peers. In the beginning of the movie, she dresses in darker colors as opposed to the bright neons and pastels of Taffy. Over time, her outfits become even more gothic and elaborate, reflecting her growing confidence and comfort in her individuality. This acceptance reflects all the experiences that shaped her. Lisa is forever marked by her grief and trauma, but she learns to embrace this side of her. Grief is not something to be ashamed of or to suppress. It is proof that the love for her mother existed. Her blossoming relationship with the Creature not only provides her an outlet to work through her trauma, but it helps her open up to the world again.

Source: https://www.fangoria.com/lisa-frankenstein-costumes/ 

Something that I personally found beautiful was the Creature’s silent devotion. After her mother’s death, Lisa is viewed as fragile and disturbed, one moment away from snapping. No one wanted to be associated with the strange girl who witnessed her mother's murder.

But the Creature does.

He loves her for who she is, each and every sharp edge. He loves her morbidity and embrace of death. His muteness serves as a way for Lisa to actually express and process her repressed feelings. Whereas everyone talks over her, the Creature silently listens, prioritizing Lisa and her emotional journey. I'd say this is a great example of the female gaze. It emphasizes the emotional intimacy between Lisa and the Creature, and preserves her autonomy. It’s a film that wears its darkness and quirkiness proudly—exactly the kind of offbeat story destined for a devoted following.

Lisa Frankenstein isn't just a monster movie—it's a darkly whimsical story about embracing your shadows, honoring your grief, and loving the person you become.

XOXO, Michaela