4 star fun and quirky throwback to the 80s.
Lisa Frankenstein is a 2024 American comedy horror film, written by Diablo Cody (Juno, Tully) and directed by Zelda Williams in her impressive feature directorial debut.
It is available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD from 3rd June 2024, courtesy of Mediumrare Entertainment.
“I can never, ever talk about it Lori, for personal and legal reasons. I also pinky swore. But I guess I can tell you. I trust you, you’re my cheer sister.”
As the film opens, we see (in the form of a silhouette animation) the tragic life of a young man, a piano player who loses the love of his life to another musician.
The year is 1989 and Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton – Winner, Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), is a troubled teenager still getting over the brutal murder of her mother two years ago at the hands of a crazed axe man. She still rarely speaks and spends much of her time at the local abandoned cemetery, “Bachelor’s Grove”. Here, she leaves flowers at one of the graves, even giving the unnamed inhabitant her mother’s rosary beads.
Her father Dale (Joe Chrest – Killers of the Flower Moon, Where the Crawdads Sing) remarried very quickly to the very house proud and forceful Janet (Carla Gugino – Watchmen, San Andreas) and now Lisa finds herself living with them and her step sister Taffy (Liza Soberano – Alone/Together, Everyday I Love You).
When Taffy persuades her to go to a party to socialise, her drink is spiked and she is assaulted by her lab partner Josh. She heads to her favourite place, the cemetery during a thunderstorm and then home to bed. The next day, she is rudely disturbed by a Creature (Cole Sprouse – Grace Under Fire, Riverdale) bursting into her room. She soon realises he is her friend from Bachelor’s Grove, somehow resurrected during the storm.
She sets about cleaning him up and helping him with various matters, including replacing some missing body parts and seems to have finally met someone she can relate to. Teenage life is much easier to navigate with the help of a Victorian era corpse.
“When I said I wished I was with you, I didn’t mean…I meant, I wish I was in the ground, dead, because life sucks and people are jerk offs. I didn’t mean that I wanted to be with you, you know, in person.”
Lisa Frankenstein is a very entertaining film. There is plenty of comedy, I laughed out loud a few times and the fun script is expertly delivered by the cast, who do a sterling job.
It has very strong eighties vibes, harking back to the happy days when the likes of Heathers and Edward Scissorhands were all the rage. This captures that feeling, but also brings it up to date. The bright colours and outrageously gothic costumes are in direct contrast to the dark and gruesome nature of the story.
It’s satisfyingly gross, with noxious bodily fluids as well as lots of insects, which all serves to remind us that however attractive she may find him, he is after all a corpse. The horror element to the story is also strong with gore aplenty. With lots of special features, this is an excellent package and well worth adding to your collection.
“No reception? Dead meat. Well, maybe it could just be for looks. Like my cousin Carleen. She got a boob job, she can’t feel anything but she’s still got a husband.”
Lisa Frankenstein is available to buy now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD
Extras:
- An Electric Connection”- A featurette on the film and characters.
- Resurrecting The 80’s” covers the 80’s setting and production design.
- A Dark Comedy Duo” – about the collaboration between Diablo Cody and Zelda Williams.
- Commentary by Zelda Williams.
- Deleted scenes
- Gag reel
- Theatrical trailer
| Director | Zelda Williams |
| Genre | Comedy, horror |
| Starring | Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Carla Gugino, Joe Chrest |
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