1980s American cinema included some of the most influential teen comedies in cinema. So much so that filmmakers continue to take inspiration from them. The thing is that, while significant for their time, the majority of these films focused on the male perspective and, truthfully, contain aspects that don’t age particularly well in the context of the modern era. Now, after directing two short films, Zelda Williams (Kappa Kappa Die; Shrimp) helms the horror comedy Lisa Frankenstein, written and produced by Diablo Cody (the mind behind such films as Jennifer’s Body (2009) and Tully (2018)). It’s a story that puts its female lead first and offers a dark comedy that speaks to audiences of today and yesteryear. Originally released by Focus Features, Lisa Frankenstein fans (or those who are just curious) are offered a home release from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment that includes roughly 19 minutes of special features to expand the viewing experience.
L-R: Liza Soberano stars as Taffy and Kathryn Newton as Lisa Swallows in LISA FRANKENSTEIN, a Focus Features release. Photo Credit: Michele K. Short. © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
1989: Lucy Swallows’s (Kathryn Newton) future is not looking so bright. She’s moved to a new town, into a new home, and is going to a new school — all of which are hard enough to acclimate to on their own without the specter of her trauma from her mother’s murder hanging over everything she does. No matter how hard her step-sister Taffy (Liza Soberano) tries to make her feel included, Lucy only feels at peace hanging out in the nearby bachelor’s graveyard, taking rubbings of the headstones and reclining on one specific stone/bust in particular. Lucy longs for love and connection, finding herself lacking both internally and externally, until a freak storm brings the zombified remains of her favorite dead bachelor (Cole Sprouse) to her doorstep, setting into motion events that will change her life forever.
Despite this being a home release review, as this a first-time review and it doesn’t seem like the film got the reception it perhaps deserved, this will keep spoilers to a minimum.
L-R: Cinematographer Paula Huidobro and director Zelda Williams on the set of their film LISA FRANKENSTEIN, a Focus Features release. Photo Credit: Michele K. Short. © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The marketing for Lisa Frankenstein is a bit of a misdirect that works against what the film is. The tagline reads “If you can’t meet your perfect boyfriend…make him,” heavily suggesting that our lead, Lisa, will be building a man to fill some kind of vacuum. This reads both as a straight reference to its source, the novelist Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, as well as John Hughes’s 1985 teen comedy Weird Science in which two outcast boys make their own girlfriend. To the film’s benefit, it sidesteps this by making the creation of the zombie, dubbed “Creature” as we never learn his name, an accident of nature powered by Lucy’s desire for connection, though not specifically romantic connection. Instead, as designed by Cody, these two are a proper pair of misfits as they find themselves pulled together by a natural miracle and kept together because of what each offers the other: Lucy gets someone who actually listens to her and Creature gets someone who can help repair the physical parts of himself he’s lost. A friendship blossoms and the macabre follows, but it’s not specifically about Lucy making herself a lover or about Creature being a golem made to do her bidding. As designed by Cody, Creature retains all that he had before his death (minus some bits), which makes his actions more about autonomous choice rather than murderous need. (It certainly helps that the recipients of such bodily separation are, frankly, shitbags who deserve what comes to them.) The overall point being that while she has a pulse and he might not, he wasn’t *made for her* in the way that traditional creature features might opt, instead choosing to create a dynamic common for teen comedies where (in the parlance of the day) one catches feelings quick while the other has to realize it over time — a most honorable and frequently used rom-com trope.
L-R: Cole Sprouse stars as The Creature and Kathryn Newton as Lisa Swallows in LISA FRANKENSTEIN, a Focus Features release. Photo Credit: Michele K. Short. © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Something else that Lisa has going for it, the rules are a bit … wibbly, but not without a basis in cinematic fact. Though conceived by Cody, Williams’s fingers are all over the film and her take on Lucy, a character deeply fond of movies, is to make as much of the world we see in some way touched by that fondness. Sometimes that translates to an opening credit sequence that gives us the story of Creature shot in a shadowbox style or sequences that evoke silent film era storytelling, including the use stitch editing as a location transition that not only encapsulates the energy and visual elements of older cinema but simultaneously conveys the internal perception of Lucy in the moment (it’s a favorite sequence in the film). Most specifically, just before Creature makes his first appearance, Lucy is watching Day of the Dead (1985), a George A. Romero film featuring Bub (Sherman Howard), a zombie discovered to remember some aspects of his prior life given proper stimulation. The audience is shown Bub as the movie plays on a home television before cutting to Lucy curled up alone watching it. If you’re not aware of who Bub is within Romero zombie lore, then you’ll be at a loss and wonder why Creature would have such a strong sense of self that only grows stronger with each new appendage. Additionally, why the mechanism for Creature’s awakening can be attributed to a magical intervention via nature (lightning strike), the continued application of electricity via tanning booth is strange and harder to explain, yet it works as a thematic tie to creature feature science fiction and is so absolutely ‘80s that, amid all else that happens in the film, one just needs to roll with it.
Carla Gugino stars as Janet in LISA FRANKENSTEIN, a Focus Features release. Photo Credit: Focus Features. © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
If you’d like to get insight into the film beyond the humble perspective of this reviewer, you’ll want to head into the bonus features included with the home release. There’re nearly four minutes of deleted scenes and over two minutes of bloopers, only one of which adds insight into the film and its production, mostly because you get a sense of the on-set energy. There are three featurettes, totaling roughly 13 minutes, which break up on-set specifics into the era, the writer/directing team, and the central two cast members with thoughts from others. If you’re a child of the ‘80s, you’ll recognize much of the style (clothing, interior/exterior house paint, music) that Williams includes to anchor the film and we’re invited to learn about a few of the specific choices and how that informed characterization. The specificity includes incorporating details to help with character distinction, like how the house represents stepmother Janet’s (Carla Gugino) narcissism. If you’re a fan of Cody’s writing, “A Dark Comedy Duo” invites you to learn just a little bit of her ideas for what she imagined when first crafting Lisa Frankenstein, including what home device she intended to provide the spark of life, as well as get a sense of the collaborative working relationship between Williams and Cody as they sought to bring these characters to life. The final featurette, “An Electric Connection,” primarily focuses on Newtown and Sprouse, allowing the audience to get a sense of their on-set experience together and how they each approached their characters. Any of these three featurettes could easily be expanded, allowing for us to learn just a little more and get a little more depth out of what could be a shallow teen horror comedy, if not for the detail work on display.
L-R: Director Zelda Williams and screenwriter Diablo Cody on the set of their film LISA FRANKENSTEIN, a Focus Features release. Photo Credit: Mason Novick. © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The real treat, however, is the feature-length commentary from Williams herself. She’s riding solo on this, dropping tidbits on things from the reason the bust of Creature in the opening credits doesn’t match the positioning of the bust in the film, what house parties were like in the ‘80s, and the kind of things that were cut from the film (from Lucy’s cinema nerdiness, a red herring we get a glimpse of in the deleted scene “Get Me Out of Hell!,” and the kinds of changes the film underwent to switch the rating from R to PG-13). With her on her own, what we learn really is driven by what in the film Williams responds to or wants to talk about, rather than bouncing off of someone else. This isn’t an issue, however it’s something to be aware of in case there are things you’d hope to learn about but don’t. Personally, I would’ve loved more on the actual in-world explanation for Creature’s reanimation and the final sequence of the film beyond figurative/metaphorical intent. That said, director’s commentary tracks feel like a rarity these days, so thank you to Williams, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, Focus Features, and anyone else who made this happen.
L-R: Cole Sprouse stars as The Creature and Kathryn Newton as Lisa Swallows in LISA FRANKENSTEIN, a Focus Features release. Photo Credit: Michele K. Short. © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Between Newton’s persistently winning charm no matter whether she’s playing a time loop-stuck depressive (Map of Tiny Perfect Things) or body-switched psychotic (Freaky), and Sprouse’s surprising commanding energy in a virtually dialogue-free role, Lisa Frankenstein may not be the teen horror comedy you think you want, but it’ll surprise you in ways that will reveal what you need. It’s not afraid to get real with what’s on the minds of teens, highlight the obtuseness of adults, and the reality that love begins from within. Brought together by a director who doesn’t hesitate to lean into cinema history in order to bridge the gap between the weird and wild and normies, you’ve got a viewing experience that is specific, original, and impactful.
Lisa Frankenstein Special Features:
- Five (5) Deleted Scenes (3:44)
- Gag Reel (2:28)
- An Electric Connection – While it’s no easy feat to turn a 19th century dead guy into the perfect boyfriend, this piece explores Lisa and her charming Creature and what makes their relationship work. Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, and filmmakers explore how Lisa and Creature really need each other to truly thrive, why Creature is the “perfect man,” and Lisa’s choice at the end of the film. (4:44)
- Resurrecting the 1980s – Set in 1989, Lisa Frankenstein is a loving tribute to the wacky, tacky, yet totally awesome ’80s. Every department of production embraced the stylized world Diablo Cody created in her script and brought their A-game to making this colorful world a reality. (4:35)
- A Dark Comedy Duo – Well-known for her ability to subvert genres, Diablo Cody delves into the inspiration behind Lisa Frankenstein, what made her want to give the Frankenstein story a youthful, modern twist full of both horror and hilarity, and why Zelda Williams was the perfect choice to bring her story to life. (4:02)
- Feature Commentary with director Zelda Williams (1:41:30)
Available on digital March 29th, 2024.
Available on Blu-ray and DVD April 9th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official Focus Features Lisa Frankenstein webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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