By John Corrado

Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) is an awkward high school loner in 1989 who falls for the reanimated corpse of a man from the Victorian era whose grave she likes to visit in the horror comedy Lisa Frankenstein, written by Diablo Cody (Juno, Jennifer’s Body).

Following the horror movie death of her mother, Lisa lives with her vacuous, popular stepsister Taffy (Liza Soberano), mean stepmom Janet (Carla Gugino), and oblivious dad Dale (Joe Chrest). Lisa would rather spend her time writing dark poetry and making etchings of the tombstones in the abandoned graveyard behind their home.

But she gets dragged to a house party one night by Taffy, where things end badly, and an ensuing lightning storm gives life to the dug up corpse from her favourite grave. The undead young man (played by Cole Sprouse), known as The Creature, becomes a companion to Lisa that she hides in her closet. He communicates through grunts, and needs help locating replacements for his missing body parts.

In theory, Lisa Frankenstein should have a lot of elements to like about it, from Cody’s screenplay to the colourful 1980s setting and soundtrack. But the film never quite comes together. It’s not dark enough to function as horror, the script isn’t funny or clever enough as a comedy, and it’s not romantic enough to work as a romance. Tonally, the film feels uneven; the characters are inconsistent and underdeveloped, and scenes often seem strung together, missing somewhat of a cohesive narrative structure.

Directed by Zelda Williams (daughter of the late Robin Williams) in her feature directorial debut, the film feels “Frankensteined” together, drawing influences from a variety of horror comedies and ‘80s teen movies but not really regurgitating them into an appealing whole. The lead characters aren’t endearing or sympathetic enough for this Edward Scissorhands riff to really work on its own, and the PG-13 rating often makes it feel like it is holding back.

We are left with a film that feels half-baked. While Sprouse’s physical performance is the best aspect of the movie, Newton never quite finds the right balance between emo goth girl and campy comedy in her portrayal of the titular Lisa, leaving her character feeling unmoored and unbalanced. If Jennifer’s Body was under appreciated at the time of its release, but has now been reclaimed as a cult classic, it’s hard to say if Lisa Frankenstein will ever face the same reappraisal.

Film Rating: ★★ (out of 4)

Bonus Features (Blu-ray):

The Blu-ray also includes a selection of deleted scenes, three featurettes, a gag reel, and a director’s commentary track. The release ships with a standard slipcover.

• Deleted Scenes (Play All – 3 minutes, 37 seconds)

• Get Me Out of Hell! (27 seconds)

• Knock Knock (41 seconds)

• Music Lovers (28 seconds)

• Incredible Friend (1 minute, 39 seconds)

• Breaking News (22 seconds)

• Gag Reel (2 minutes, 26 seconds)

• An Electric Connection (4 minutes, 43 seconds): Williams and Cody talk about casting Newton and Sprouse in the leading roles, and the chemistry between them.

• Resurrecting the 1980’s (4 minutes, 34 seconds): A look at recreating the decade, including through the costumes and heightened production design.

• A Dark Comedy Duo (4 minutes, 1 second): Williams and Cody talk about collaborating together on the film (Cody mentions that she didn’t initially intend for the story to be funny, which might explain some of the film’s awkward tonal shifts).

• Feature Commentary with Director Zelda Williams

Lisa Frankenstein is a Universal Pictures Home Entertainment release. It’s 101 minutes and rated 14A.

Street Date: April 23rd, 2024