I Am Lisa

Director - Patrick Rea (Arbor Demon, Monster X)

Starring - Kristen Vaganos (Witch Hunt, The Hoarding), Jennifer Seward (The Stylist, Terminal), and Manon Halliburton (The Sopranos, Law and Order)

Release Date - 2020

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "It took a town to beat her down... and a full moon to get revenge"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     A couple months back I was visiting my local Walmart and was extremely disappointed in the lack of genre titles to choose from.  I know the pandemic has but the entire world in a bind but I really do miss going to Walmart and snagging a couple horror flicks I've never seen before.  That same day I found myself in a nearby town so I stopped in their Walmart just to look around when I spotted a few horror titles my store didn't have.  The first I snagged was the werewolf flick I Am Lisa from Mill Creek Entertainment.  I'm a sucker for an indie werewolf flick and I couldn't wait to check it out.

     The film follows Lisa (Vaganos) who returns to her hometown following the death of her grandmother.  She opens a book store and is soon harassed by the town drug dealer Jessica who just happens to be the daughter of the Sheriff, Deb (Halliburton).  When she tries to file a complaint on Jessica she finds herself assaulted.  They beat her up and then take her to the woods for the wolves to eat.  However, after she is bit she is saved and soon discovers that it was no ordinary wolf that bit her.  Now, she's slowly turning into a werewolf and has revenge on her mind.

     I went into this one extremely excited for a new werewolf film but was quickly greeted with unlikable characters and poor pacing.  As I reached the hour mark I was fully prepared to write a negative review for this one.  However, I stuck with it and the last twenty or so minutes of the film made it worth it.  Is it perfect?  Fuck no, it's not.  However, it was a solid enough watch.  You just have to stick with it.  The acting in this one is good.  The cast does a well enough job.  Their performances are very grounded and there is no awkward scenes.  The cast was great all around.  With that being said, there is no likable characters aside from one and she is only in the film for a few moments.  The characters are not that well written and you just wait for bad things to happen for them.  Even the character of Lisa is unlikable.  She was a poorly developed character that needed to be written into the story better.  The story for this one is stretched way too thin but as the film enters the third act you find yourself pulled it.  You have to shift through an hour of dialogue heavy scenes along with scenes that serve no point to the story before you get to the good part.  So much of this movie could be cut out and the story would be intact.  Finally, the film has some make-up effects but no full werewolf costume.  The deaths are bloody and fit with the theme of the film but are not that memorable.  With that being said, the pentagram scene was very impressive.  I really liked that gag.  Overall, I am Lisa will not be for everyone.  In fact, I'm waiting for the comments to roll in saying I was paid to write this review.  Honestly, I enjoyed it.  It grew on me but there is a lot of unnecessary scenes that need clipped.