“Lisa Frankenstein,” a movie adored by audiences and scorned by critics, has all the makings of a perfect cult classic movie. It’s a romance horror comedy that follows Lisa Swallows (Kathyrn Newton), a 17-year-old outcast and the reanimated corpse (Cole Sprouse) of the guy whose grave she’s been tending to.
The film, released in February, feels like a warm homage to the dark comedies of the late 80’s and early 90’s. So much so that it has been compared to everything from “Heathers,” the works of Tim Burton, and even “Death Becomes Her.” If you’re not intrigued yet, the film was written by Diablo Cody, writer of “Juno” and “Jennifer’s Body” and is also the directorial debut of Zelda Williams (daughter of Robin Williams).
This film, with its delightfully odd characters, is weird, gothic, and campy in all rights. It embraces its absurdness in a way that movies have been afraid to do in recent years and dares to be ridiculous and fun in a time where movies take themselves too seriously.
The movie is also visually stunning, from the dark and mesmerizing dream sequence to the vibrant sets and costumes, it perfectly captures the nostalgia of the 80’s.
Another charm of the film is the great performances from the cast. We have Newton who portrayed her character so authentically that it really helps you buy into the silliness of it all. Then there is Sprouse who (despite my initial doubts) absolutely embodied the role of the undead heartthrob.
Lastly, the writing. This film can be characterized by its witty and reference packed dialogue and its sometimes twisted and raunchy humor. Overall I’d have to say that everyone involved in the making of this movie knew exactly what it was and were devoted to it. It’s a film that has a lot of love and passion poured into it.
With all that said, I give this movie four out of five stars, and would recommend it to anyone looking for the next big campy horror comedy movie.
No AI was used in the making of this article except for the Canvas/Google doc spelling/grammar check.