Lisa Frankenstein Is My Dream Girl

Hi, everybody, and welcome to UIC Radio’s Week of Horror! As of today, Tuesday the 28th, there are three days left until Halloween arrives—on a Friday, nonetheless! I’m waiting (sort of) patiently, and in the meantime, I want to share one of my favorite, recently released spooky movies with you guys. It’s a bit different from my usual content, but I think you’ll enjoy it if you like campy-fun-80s-style movies. It’s wonderfully macabre, quirky, and features a killer soundtrack that includes one of my favorite bands, Galaxie 500, among others, such as The Pixies and When In Rome. I hope you all enjoy, and happy Week of Horror!

[lisa frankenstein movie poster, taken from movieposters.com]

I saw Lisa Frankenstein for the first time at the movie theaters three days after its initial release. The title is somewhat misleading, as one would expect Lisa to be a corpse-like member of the Frankenstein family. Instead, she is an awkward yet sensitive teenage girl who has antisocial tendencies following the death of her biological mother, who is outright mauled by the movie’s psychotic Killer (whose identity is never revealed, albeit). Upon her mother’s death, her father remarries to the narcissistic and vindictive Janet. They accept her daughter, Taffy, into their family, who is the preppy girl-next-door type, but still well-intentioned.

It is, in fact, the Victorian-era corpse that evokes the ‘Frankenstein’ sentiment. Lisa finds solace in mourning at the grave of this corpse, who is a resident of Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery, which, fun fact, is not too far away from us in Joliet, IL! Played by Cole Sprouse, the Creature assumes the role of Lisa Frankenstein’s love interest. Well, sort of. The film lures you into believing Lisa will inevitably end up with a boy she’s crushing on named Michael, an editor for the school’s lit mag, and the movie’s resident ‘cool/mysterious/sensitive guy’. In arguably the most famous scene in this movie, though, Lisa discovers that her stepsister Taffy has been sleeping with Michael, and she proceeds to give her ‘cool girl’ monologue, which I’ll touch on later.

There are so many little details to love once you’re at the end of the movie, and Lisa and the Creature’s gruesome murder spree does indeed come to an end. Once they finished off the pestering Janet, brutally mutilated Michael’s genitals, and buried a perverted teenage boy who roofied Lisa at a party, only then did they decide to rest with each other in blissful solitude: Lisa electrocutes herself in Taffy’s tanning bed. The plan misguides the authorities, but in a pre-credits scene, Lisa is fully bandaged, resting her head on the creature's lap on a cemetery bench, where he reads her “To Mary” by Percy Shelley (romantic and a reference to the source material, how sweet!). I should mention the Creature has not spoken before this very scene.

[the creature becomes alive, taken from entertainment weekly]

It’s a bizarre movie, but its charm can be found within its strangeness. During a drug-induced dream sequence early in the film, a Voyage to the Moon-esque visual style is utilized, contrasting with the film's saturated and electric color palette. It’s certainly dreamy, and I love how they incorporate the shoegaze song Strange by Galaxie 500; the lyrics are perfectly laid-back, paired with twangy rhythm guitars and a psychedelic lead. I also think Can’t Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon plays during a memorable scene in the film; during their final moments together, the Creature realizes his ability to play this song on the piano in Lisa’s living room. It’s a tender moment where, as he plays the piano, she sings along and dances wildly. 

While others see her as withdrawn and apathetic, I can’t help but appreciate how genuinely cool she is. As she states in her monologue, where she discovers Taffy and Michael sleeping, 

“You like cool movies and music and stuff, but only for you! You want to be the smart one who likes cool stuff, and you don't want your girlfriend to like cool stuff. Do you know how uncool that is?” - Lisa Frankenstein

From her Violent Femmes t-shirt to the Bauhaus poster in her room, she’s got spunk and a sense of emotional maturity that I love seeing explored in this movie. When Michael compares her poems to those of Plath and Sexton, I could already see myself loving her, but she continues to impress me throughout the feature. If you haven’t watched Lisa Frankenstein already, I suggest you do so before spooky season is over. It’s a wonderfully unique and quirky film; I can see anybody having fun watching it. Have a great Halloween, everybody.

Happy Haunting,

Mila