FrightFest 2020: ‘I Am Lisa’ dives deep into police corruption

A German poet and essayist, Heinrich Heine is often quoted as saying, “One must forgive one’s enemies – but not before they have been hanged.” This moral quandary becomes the backbone for Patrick Rea’s long-toothed new flick, I Am Lisa, playing this year’s FrightFest. With a script written by Eric Winkler, the werewolf feature is an admirable attempt in mining current social and political issues, including rape culture and police corruption, that ultimately withers on the vine.

Kristen Vaganos plays the titular character Lisa, who has inhereted her late grandmother’s treasured bookstore. She’s seemingly all alone in her life, outside of her best friend Sam (Jennifer Seward), and always hangs on the fringes of society and deep inside a wondrous world of fiction. Such an angst-ridden set-up is not complete without an arch nemisis, so enter queer drug pedaler Jessica Huckins (Carmen Anello) and her wing-women Dana (Sarah McGuire) and Millie (Millie Milan). The witchy trio blow through the shop with their thumb-biting punk-rock attitude and a complete disregard for the classics, unleashing torment upon Lisa nearly every single day.

During one encounter, Jessica, who has long harbored deep lust for Lisa, corners our protagonist and aggressively harrasses her. Much like any self-loathing individual, Jessica forces herself on Lisa, kissing her, and then turns spiteful when Lisa does not reciprocate. This moment triggers the film’s entire narrative, leading Lisa to head to the police station to file a report.

But her retaliation for justice is all in vain. Jessica’s mother Deb Huckins (Manon Halliburton) happens to be the town’s egomaniacal sheriff, and her brother Nick (Chris Bylsma) is the trusty and very icky deputy. The Huckins duo laugh Lisa off, claiming that an unwanted kiss is not assault (it is), and to keep Lisa quiet, they wield their power over her and take her hostage. Deb leaves her daughter and friends to pulvarize Lisa to near-death before instructing Nick to transport her body and leave her in the woods for the wolves to consume. Nick obeys, and then rapes her in broad daylight.

I Am Lisa then leaps into the classic rape-revenge triumph, twisting with a very cool werewolf folklore. Deep within the surrounding woods lives a man name Dolphus (Shawn Eric Jones), and he appears to be a wolf whisperer, you could say. Lisa is biten by one wolf, and before being ripped to shreds, she is saved by Mary (Cinnamon Schultz), who has her own dark story to tell, and taken to Mary’s secluded cottage to heal.

Very low budget, I Am Lisa can be forgiven for much of its avoidance of practial effects and even some acting moments. While the werewolf mythology is totally striking, it never quites hits into overdrive like it should. And post-assault, Lisa wrestles with taking the moral high ground, and it becomes tedious, treading water even, until she realizes exacting revenge is her only option. What’s most terrifying about this flick is the real world implications of a highly corrupt police force, and Halliburton gives an absolute star turn as the downright despicable sheriff. Her scenes hit the pavement the hardest, so much so that they transcend the werewolf angle.

I Am Lisa is fine, even if it mostly loses its way.

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