The Haunting of Hill House star's hilarious performance in horror-comedy Lisa Frankenstein proves she's so much more than a scream queen

EntertainmentMoviesComedy MoviesThe Haunting of Hill House star’s hilarious performance in horror-comedy Lisa Frankenstein proves she’s so much more than a scream queenWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. EntertainmentMoviesComedy MoviesThe Haunting of Hill House star’s hilarious performance in horror-comedy Lisa Frankenstein proves she’s so much more than a scream queenWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Universal Pictures) Warning! This article contains mild spoilers forLisa Frankenstein. If you don’t want to knowanythingabout the movie, turn back now. Bring up Carla Gugino in front of any horror fan, and you’d better swiftly brace yourself for them to start breathlessly waxing lyrical. The actor, who shot to relative fame in the Spy Kids franchise, Sin City, and Watchmen, blew up and became one of genre filmmaker Mike Flanagan’s most valuable collaborators in 2017, when they teamed up for Stephen King adaptation Gerald’s Game. Since then, the pair has worked together on The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, andThe Fall of the House of Usher, with Gugino having a very minor off-camera role in Midnight Mass, too. In each, she anchored the show’s scares with steeliness, intensity, and heart-rending pathos, whether she was playing a doe-eyed, ill-fated matriarch, a grieving, grateful lover, or the human embodiment of Death itself. Gugino’s latest, Lisa Frankenstein, though, showcases her incredible, somewhat unexpected comedy chops, proving she’s so much more than a tear-jerking scream queen… Dead funny (Image credit: Focus) Comically quickly, the kindred spirits realize that the best way to replace The Creature’s missing hand, ear, and… more is to kill those rubbing Lisa up the wrong way and lop off whichever body part they require. Lisa, using the skills she’s learned at her part-time job as a seamstress, then sews the appendages onto The Creature and throws him in her stepsister’s malfunctioning tanning bed to kickstart the latest addition’s blood flow. Naturally. Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox BIG SCREEN SPOTLIGHTShining a light on the under-the-radar theatrical releases that you need to know about, with a new article every Friday BIG SCREEN SPOTLIGHT Shining a light on the under-the-radar theatrical releases that you need to know about, with a new article every Friday Shining a light on the under-the-radar theatrical releases that you need to know about, with a new article every Friday For someone who proudly describes themselves as an ‘IP’ (an “intuitive person”), Janet couldn’t read a room if it was a 20-foot neon-lit sign, which allows Gugino to ramp up the camp, and give us an unabashed, toe-curlingly cringeworthy character for the ages – the kind of old-school villain who’s just a bit of a pain in the arse rather than a full-blown baddie. It’s an assured performance comparable to Catherine O’Hara’s Delia Deetz in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, which is perfect, really, given that that film caters heavily to the kooky, spooky girls much in the same way Lisa Frankenstein does. Ha, ha, harrrrghhhhh (Image credit: Focus Features) BIG SCREEN SPOTLIGHT(Image credit: Studiocanal)Olivia Colman’s new foul-mouthed comedy Wicked Little Letters has an unexpectedly nuanced darker side BIG SCREEN SPOTLIGHT (Image credit: Studiocanal)Olivia Colman’s new foul-mouthed comedy Wicked Little Letters has an unexpectedly nuanced darker side (Image credit: Studiocanal) Olivia Colman’s new foul-mouthed comedy Wicked Little Letters has an unexpectedly nuanced darker side Turns out, she played a large part in working out Janet’s look, too, which was initially much more casual, and consisted of baggy jumpers, sweatpants, and a scruffy ponytail. “She sees herself as a sort of movie star with everything perfectly in place,” Gugino added. “It’s precisely because Janet is so hilariously not self-aware that she is so meticulous in the way she dresses. We wanted her to look very put together so that when she comes apart, we really start to see her disassemble.” In short, Janet couldn’t exist without Gugino. You’d have to look back to the ’90s to see Gugino in a similarly silly part, and I just hope that it doesn’t take her 25 years to do another. Janet may falsely identify herself as an ‘IP’, but it’s glaringly obvious Gugino is, unquestionably, Lisa Frankenstein’s V…IP. Lisa Frankenstein is in UK theaters now. To ensure you don’t miss anything else you should be watching at the cinema, be sure to check out the rest of ourBig Screen Spotlightseries. 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Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1 Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2 Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3 Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best 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