Lisa Frankenstein (2024)-- My take on the movie with spoilers

 

Plot: When a corpse comes to life one night, it makes its way to Lisa’s home who recognizes it as her crush. She then helps him find new body parts while taking down all those who bully her. 

Think of tanning beds in horror movies and you are likely to remember that one scene in Final Destination 3 when two girls get trapped in the beds and are burned alive. 

Supposedly, a lot of scenes from the Final Destination movies can traumatize you. 

Anyway, LISA FRANKENSTEIN also has a new use for tanning beds now: for animating and affixing body parts on corpses. 

If there is one real star of the movie, it has to be the tanning bed that at least acts consistently. Because there will be times when you will find the acting skills of the protagonists, just off. 

While Cole Sprouse is tasked with playing a corpse and deliver zero lines, it is up to Kathryn Newton to take the story forward, and while she has screen presence, her character can be so annoying that it takes a great effort to endure it and watch the rest of the movie. 

At times, Lisa is kind and you may feel sympathy. Other times, you may recoil at her indifference and cringe at her fascination for death. 

Putting these things aside, Lisa Frankenstein is quirky and enjoyable in parts. But at the end of the movie, you may not say the same for the main characters. 

LISA FRANKENSTEIN Plot

The movie begins with an animated montage of the Creature’s back story. He was an orphan who became a pianist. One day, he falls in love with a young woman who eventually dumps him for another. 

Broken-hearted he goes to a park and sits at a bench to read when he is struck by lightning and dies. He is buried at Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery since he was unmarried. After his death, presumably, the girl he was in love with, visits his grave. 

Years later, a girl is sketching the name on a sheet of paper and writes her name on top of it: Lisa Frankenstein. 

So let us assume that the man who died had Frankenstein in his last name. Or since the wordings look different, perhaps Lisa sketched different names off tombstones, or the man’s name was Franken Stein. 

Cut to Lisa, a fully grown teenager who is dressing up and blow drying her hair. Her stepsister Taffy comes in and remarks about how the makeup is doing nothing for her but that she should use the tanning bed. Unlike other stepsisters, Taffy is actually being helpful. 

Unfortunately, Lisa gets electrocuted by the tanning bed. Taffy, who insists Lisa socializes, drives her to a party. On the way, she asks who Lisa has a crush on and she reveals she likes Michael Trent. Taffy doesn’t know who he is and is further appalled when Lisa reveals she visits the Bachelor’s Cemetery and has a favorite tombstone. 

The tombstone has ‘EIN’ still on it so clearly his name did end with an EIN. Lisa has also wrapped jewellery around the bust and told it to keep it safe. Taffy finds it all weird, like everyone else would. 

At the party, Lisa talks to Michael and is surprised to learn that he knows her because of the poems she has submitted. 

Taffy tells her friends of what made Lisa weird and fascinated with death. She was with her mother one evening when an intruder broke into their home. While her mother sent her away to hide, the intruder killed the mother with an axe. Lisa had to hear everything. For some reason, she has become screwed up to the point that she is fascinated with death and has no reaction if anyone is killed in front of her. 

Lisa is still bonding with Michael when a girl breaks up their conversation and offers Lisa a drink. She immediately gets woozy and Taffy comes to help her but also states she is disappointed that she got drunk and goes to tell off the girl who gave her a drink. 

Lisa meets Doug who offers to help her but then takes her up to a room and has her touch him. Mortified, Lisa runs away before he takes advantage of her. 

In her inebriated state, she visits the Cemetery and talks to the grave. She wishes she could be with someone like him. 

There’s a storm brewing when Lisa reaches home. At the time when she punches the bathroom mirror in anger of what has happened to her, lightning strikes that very grave in the cemetery. 

That night, Lisa has a very weird, black and white dream where she finds the bust has become a living person and sitting on her bed. There’s creepy dolls and cats. Lisa and the bust bond over bubble gum. 

The next morning, Lisa gets into trouble for smashing the bathroom mirror and her stepmother Janet scolds her. She makes Lisa agree to pay for the damages she has caused. 

Lisa works at Wayne’s as a tailor. Michael walks in and is all apologetic and sweet. Wayne embarrasses Lisa by saying she is flat-chested and can never get a date on the weekends. Michael’s friend also drops in to hurry him along and is clearly displeased with Lisa and Michael’s growing friendship. 

At home, Janet has ordered meat pizza and now there’s no dinner for Lisa who is a vegetarian. Taffy tries to cheer her up even as Janet continuous to taunt Lisa for choosing work as a seamstress while her daughter is a cheerleader. 

Later, Lisa is watching a horror movie alone when there’s a knock on the door. It is the creature from the cemetery but Lisa doesn’t recognize him yet. She believes him to be an intruder who is going to kill him. After a lot of running around, Lisa manages to get a phone and overhears the creature grunting a song. Recognizing him as the bachelor from the cemetery, she approaches him. 

She takes him up to her room and gets him cleaned because he is clearly disgusting and rotten. There is dirt and worms everywhere, and his tears stink. How did the drains not get clogged up?

After that it is time for the dress-up montage. The creature dresses himself up in different outfits while Lisa cheers him on. Eventually the decide upon a jacket and pants. How did Lisa even have those many clothes?

Anyway, Lisa’s family returns and sees the house in shambles. Lisa tries to explain that there was a break-in and she fought the intruder off but Janet doesn’t buy it and implies that she is lying for attention.

Lisa is upset because her own father won’t believe her. Even the creature decides to give her some space. The next morning, Lisa is off to school in an outfit the creature threw on her face. Everyone at school is in awe of her new look.

At home, Janet is in leotards and listening to music on her walkman. The creature comes down and places a worm in her food as revenge for yelling at Lisa. 

Lisa is talking to Michael at school when Taffy intervenes and tells him to get lost as she is protective of her sister. While Michael quotes poetry, Taffy quotes Sesame Street. 

At home, Lisa talks to the creature who wants her to fix him but she tells him that Taffy has always advised her to never try to fix boys and accept them with their flaws. The creature is frustrated at not having a ear and a hand. 

Just then Janet comes in and the Creature goes to hide in the closet. Janet is threatening Lisa with sending her to an asylum. Seeing Lisa distressed, the Creature emerges from the closet and brains Janet with a sewing machine. As soon as she dies, he cuts off her ear and asks Lisa to sew it on him. 

After burying Janet, Lisa stitches the ear on the Creature but it does not work until he draws a bolt on her hand. Lisa takes him to a tanning bed where he gets electrocuted, and voila, his ear works. 

It is assumed that Janet has gone out of town for work so Lisa doesn’t have to come up with any excuses regarding Janet’s absence. At school, she leaves a note in a boy’s locker, asking him to meet her at the lake. She is crushing hard on Michael so you will think she left the note for him. But nope. It’s for Doug. 

Doug comes to see her with high hopes, but he is kneed by Lisa and stabbed in the back by the Creature who also proceeds to cut off his arm. After Doug is killed too, Lisa sews the hand on the Creature and once again gives him the fault tanning bed treatment. The Creature is elated to have received a hand and dances with Lisa while worms fall on the ground. 

They celebrate by playing the piano as well, and Lisa sings. The Creature is starting to look like his normal self but his tears of regret, for killing people, is still disgusting. 

Later, Taffy comes home excitedly after performing a difficult move at cheer practice. She wants to call up her mother and tell her which makes Lisa nervous. 

Taffy of course finds out that her mother is in none of the Radissons in Milwaukee and panics. Lisa tries to console here but she goes to their father and they seek help in looking for Janet. 

Lisa and the Creature bond over a glass of milk after they play around with the pleasure device they found in the closet. She tells him about what she went through after her mother was killed and that she is no longer afraid of death. She knows that people will find out what she did to Janet and wants to be with Michael before anything bad happens. 

The Creature isn’t too happy with Lisa’s resolve. 

The next morning, Taffy is super worried, while Lisa is dressed up to the nines because she is excited to be with Michael. At school, there is police roaming about. Apparently, Doug did not show up at home last night and now there is a search party out for him. 

Taffy gets really upset since her mom is also upset and tells Lisa that she is headed home. None of Taffy’s friends offer to drop Lisa after school. During fourth period, Lisa realizes that Micheal isn’t present and is about to leave when she is called to the principal’s office. 

She is being questioned about her relationship with Doug because Michael’s friend saw her put a note in his locker. The two girls get into a fight and Lisa manages to walk away. But realizing she is getting close to being caught, she heads to see Michael. 

LISA FRANKENSTEIN Ending Explained

The Creature is playing the piano when he decides to go get Lisa. He steals a car, knocks out a neighbor and picks up Lisa who is stomping towards Michael’s house. She tells him how she isn’t too happy that the Creature isn’t supporting her to bed Michael. The Creature makes a puppy face but Lisa doesn’t relent. 

She goes inside Michael’s house and is shocked to see him with Taffy. She confronts them both and the Creature comes up behind her and chops up Michael’s private parts. He goes after Taffy too but Lisa stops him. 

A very traumatized Taffy is still screaming as Lisa takes her out and makes her sit in the car. She drives to the woods where they have been burying people. 

She tells Taffy how much she appreciates being her sister and the kindness she has shown to her when no one else did. Taffy is still terrified and barely takes Lisa’s gift of her mother’s necklace. 

Lisa goes after the Creature with an axe while Taffy runs away. 

Lisa realizes she can’t kill the Creature and that he loves her. She melts in his arms like a dramatic actress in a 1950s movie. She wants him to make love to her but he literally makes her feel why he cannot. He then hands her Michael’s private parts and she understands what she must do. 

After stitching the parts, the Creature is ready but before he beds her, he places a jelly candy ring on her finger and only then gets intimate with her. 

Thankfully, an animation shows what happens later. 

Afterwards, Lisa tells the Creature that the only way they can truly be together is if that she also joins him. She gets inside the tanning bed and they say their goodbyes. After turning the bed to the highest setting, the tanning bed burns and Lisa with it. 

Some time later, Taffy and her stepfather visit Lisa’s grave. Taffy is perturbed when she sees jelly candy by the grave as well as letterings ‘beloved wife’. They leave and go to Fuddruckers. 

The Creature is sitting on a bench reading to a bandaged up Lisa. 

Will she need spare body parts too or was the Creature able to retain all her body parts? 

Also, he is speaking so he probably cut off someone’s tongue or healed after he got all his body parts. 

The movie ends. 

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