The hour of the Gen Z Scream Queen is upon us, and as much as I hate to admit it, I think we should embrace it. Wether it’s Jenny Ortega as Wednesday or in the new instalments of Scream, Amandla Stenberg in Bodies Bodies Bodies or Kathryn Newton in, not only Freaky, but Zelda William’s Lisa Frankenstein, as the titular Lisa, they are here to … I’m gonna say it … slay.
The Plot
It’s 1989. High school senior, Lisa Swallows and her gormless father (Joe Chrest) have just moved in with her new step-mother (Carla Gugino) and step-sister, Taffy (Liza Soberano). Her father’s remarriage follows the death (by axe murder) of Lisa’s mother, which Lisa witnessed and she’s not happy to be at a new school.
Lisa find solace at the Bachelor’s Graveyard, where her favourite grave is one of “Frankenstein” or “The Creature” (Cole Sprouse). After a not-fun-for-Lisa start of term party, lightning strikes the grave and the Creature comes to life and seeks out Lisa.
Murder, romance and comedy ensue. The pair grow closer, despite Lisa pursuing her school crush, Henry. The Creature “helps” her navigate negative relationships with her family and classmates and Lisa, in turn, helps the Creature: restoring body parts with her sewing skills.
The overhanging question throughout the movie is, can a relationship, friendship or romantic, maintain between the pair, considering one is, well, dead.
Review
I really liked this film. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I gave it 4.5 on Letterboxd and here’s why.
Kathryn Newton [side note: big shout out to my gal who spells Kathryn the same way I do] holds this movie in the palm of her hand. She delivers comedy lines with perfect timing and inflection, she plays seventeen year old angst like she just went through it (despite her being 27) and her connection with Sprouse is very believable. The way she reacts to her awful step-mother and well-meaning-cheerleader sister make you root for her and, as alluded to above, she has the scream queen thing down. I’d watch her in this role or in other horror roles again.
Cole Sprouse is great as the creature, and I’m not just saying that because I have a crush on Jughead. Despite having very very minimal spoken lines, Spouse delivers a emotionally complex performance, with both great expression and an element of confusion (you would be, if you were suddenly alive again). It reminded me of Daniel Radcliffe in Swiss Army Man (2016), which is a great film and worth a watch.
I’d also like to give a shout out to Liza Soberano as the sister, Taffy. She’s so sickeningly well-meaning that you feel so bad for her and at the same time, kinda hate her, like I feel like her friends would have bullied me at school. One of her lines, while describing her mother “she has french nails, yeah, she’s a bitch” got a massive laugh and deserved it. Also, while I’m at it, the step-mother was truly awful in a sort-of “instagram mum” way, despite it being the 80’s, and I loved that. I wanted her to die, painfully.
The film was also so stylish. The 80’s clothes, cars, decorations and music all added to that Heathers feel that so many people were hoping they would get. Set right at the end of the 80’s you also get the early 90’s vibe, allowing those of us who grew up then to really feel like we were there, we remember that stuff: walkmans, crimpers, really big scrunchies…
As for the horror, it was there, but avoidable if you’re squeamish. There was blood and gore, but not so much as to put your off if you’re only there for the comedy.
I was also satisfied with the ending, after all, it’s a horror-comedy and I was there for a good time and god damn it, I had it.
It’s a real shame this didn’t get the big release it deserves. We struggled to find a good time for this and the central London cinema we often go to for released like this, didn’t have it at all. It’s hard to go up against something like Dune: Part Two (a stunning film, worth all it’s praise), but I’m really hoping this film makes money, so we can see more of this bloody, gory, funny, stylish horror.
4.5/5 stars, if you’re into that.
That Horror Chick 