If your idea of a laugh riot is a high-school dreamboat being separated from his penis by an axe while treacly ‘80s classic “On the Wings of Love” soars on the soundtrack, then’s screenplay about a maladjusted teen who finds a sense of purpose by bonding with a reanimated corpse delivers enough funny lines to make you want to cut it some slack for a minute.
Aside from perky Taffy, who thinks “cerebral” means wheelchair-user, Lisa has no friends at school. But she experiences a moment of hope when her secret crush, literary journal editor Michael Trent , expresses admiration for her dark poetry at a party. That dream fades instantly, however, when a spiked drink makes her lose control, fleeing from public humiliation to her cemetery sanctuary.
One issue is that Lisa’s attachment to the Creature dawdles too long before abruptly shifting into romantic gear. Instead of giving us a window into whatever’s going on in her head, we just get the external transformation as her shuffling undead friend liberates her inner Goth chick and she starts sashaying down the school corridors dressed as Helena Bonham Carter.