Naman Shrestha
Loosely inspired by the 1818 novel titled ‘Frankenstein’ or ‘The Modern Prometheus’ by Mary Shelley, ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ is a horror comedy movie that follows a misunderstood teenage goth girl named Lisa Swallows and her high school crush, a reanimated handsome Victorian corpse — “The Creature.” As the former manages to bring The Creature back to life following a series of horrific circumstances, the pair sets off on a gory journey in search of love, happiness, and some missing body parts.
Helmed by Zelda Williams, the gothic romance is led by the captivating onscreen performances of Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse, who are accompanied by other talented actors in supporting roles, including Liza Soberano, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest, and Carla Gugino. While the thrilling storyline keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats, the multitude of interesting backdrops, including the high school, cemetery, and residence of Lisa, raises questions about the actual filming locations of ‘Lisa Frankenstein.’
Lisa Frankenstein Was Majorly Filmed in New Orleans
‘Lisa Frankenstein’ was primarily filmed in Louisiana, specifically in and around New Orleans. According to reports, production of the thriller film got underway in early August 2022 and continued for a month or so before getting wrapped up around mid-September of the same year. Talking about the shooting process, director Zelda Williams shared a post on social media that read, “As I dive into post on Lisa Frankenstein, I just wanna say how grateful I am to have worked with every single person in this photo.”
Zelda elaborated further, “To have crossed the (production) finish line on my first film with all of you will remain one of the most joyful adventures of my life. thank you, a thousand times over, for all your hard work, and I hope to spend the rest of my career earning the respect you already so generously gave me. Frankencrew forever! X.” So, let us take you through the gory journey with Lisa and The Creature, and familiarize you with all the specific sites that make an appearance in the gothic movie!
New Orleans, Louisiana
All the pivotal sequences for ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ were lensed in and around New Orleans, a city on the Mississippi River in Louisiana. Reports suggest that the production team utilized the facilities of one of the film studios located in the city as well as the premises of a cemetery to shoot the graveyard scenes of Lisa with the Creature’s statue. During a conversation with the Hollywood Reporter, Kathryn Newton, who portrays Lisa, was asked about the challenges she faced while filming the scenes with a grunting reanimated corpse.
Kathryn explained, “As soon as I got on set, I saw what Cole was doing and I realized, ‘He’s the straight guy, and my character is the one who’s causing all the chaos.’ And so I had to go there. I had to give people something to react to, and I had to move the story in a different way than I thought. I really don’t know what I was thinking, but I definitely thought I was going to be very still and hold back and be very internal (despite all the dialogue). So it was actually the opposite, and I don’t even understand some of the things I did with my face. I didn’t know I could move my face in some of those ways, but I definitely went there a lot.”
Cole’s portrayal of The Creature involved a lot of not speaking, which he did not find that much challenging. He admitted that there were times when some part of his brain wanted to speak up and annoy people. But at the same time, it had been a childhood dream of his to be a big monster movie guy. So, when he read the script for ‘Lisa Frankenstein,’ it checked all the boxes for him. In an interview, Cole mentioned that he actually found working on the film quite exhilarating and not that challenging. He did clarify that while there were tough moments, he managed to have fun since he was working on a project he loves alongside people he vibes with.
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