“Lisa Frankenstein” is the joint product of writer Diablo Cody and director Zelda Williams. The title references both the classic Frankenstein story as well as Lisa Frank’s signature colorful art style. 

The movie is centered around Kathryn Newton’s character of Lisa Swallows as she navigates high school in 1989 alongside her preppy step sister Taffy. When a creature emerges from the graveyard Lisa frequents, she takes on the task of hiding and ultimately working to piece his body back together.

The film blends body horror, teenage rom coms, and the typical monster movie elements together into a screwball comedy that’s sure to be appreciated as a 2024 cult classic in the future. 

Taking inspiration from classics of the ’80s movie scenes, “Lisa Frankenstein” feels very reminiscent of titles like “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”, “Heathers” and the lesser known dark comedy “Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!”

The film balances Diablo Cody’s signature humor with the classic horror elements of the Frankenstein story. It’s an oddball love story and a love letter to all the weird girls out there, a clique that Cody herself has belonged to since her teenage years. 

“Lisa Frankenstein” stars Kathryn Newton as the title character of Lisa. Newton is best known for her role in Netflix’s teen drama series “The Society ”. She recently stepped into the role of Ant-Man’s daughter in the Marvel release, “Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” 

Newton seems to be the perfect choice for the titular character, with a voice able to capture the monotonous tone of a goth teen in the ’80s as well as the airiness of a mad scientist archetype. 

She finds the balance between the absurdity of the script as well as understanding the emotional depth needed within her character of Lisa. 

Cole Sprouse, the Cody half of Disney’s “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” stars opposite Newton as a freshly revived corpse. Despite not having a voice for the majority for the movie, he builds a solid character for the audience to connect to through his physicality alone.

Newton and Sprouse capture a chemistry between the two screwball characters that makes them both endearing to the audience despite the horrific choices they continue to make at each turn. 

Carla Gugino who has become a recent scream queen in the horror genre with her presence in the film “Gerald’s Game” as well as her roles in Mike Flanagan’s “The Haunting of Hill House” and “The Fall of the House of Usher” miniseries. 

Gugino serves as the main antagonist of the film and as an evil stepmother archetype. She leans into the absurdity of the role and embraces the neon aerobic gear and self-absorption of her character. 

Director Zelda Williams is the daughter of the late comedic actor Robin Williams and while she has a few previous directorial credits, “Lisa Frankenstein” is her feature-length directorial debut. 

Williams’ aesthetic choices and framing of key scenes maintain the feeling of Diablo Cody’s previous works while creating a unique setting for the story. Pulling inspiration from iconic films of the ’80s, “Lisa Frankenstein” is an homage to the decade. 

Taking place in the late 1980s, Williams borrows the eclectic fashion choices and the saturated, intense colors of Lisa Frank’s typical palate. Each frame gives the viewer something new to look at and the colors indicate the various tone shifts that the movie takes throughout the runtime. 

Writer Diablo Cody is known best for her pop culture phenomenons “Jennifer’s Body” and “Juno”. Both of these films have become well-known titles and “Juno” was critically acclaimed at the time of release. However, “Jennifer’s Body” was less well received. The 2009 film suffered because of mis-marketing and preconceived notions by critics and audiences alike. 

Critics at the time had dismissed Megan Fox, the star of the movie, to be nothing more than her looks. Cody suffered at the hands of critics as well, despite just winning an Oscar for the “Juno” screenplay. Her dialogue was said to be overly gimmicky and critics considered her a one-hit wonder.

“Jennifer’s Body” suffered because of a myriad of issues but ultimately its failure can be attributed to the misogynistic culture of the 2000s. However, in recent years the film has become a cult classic and accepted as a refreshingly weird story that comments on sexuality, politics and the feminist movement. 

“Lisa Frankenstein” feels very reminiscent of “Jennifer’s Body”, with the story revolving around an inherently evil, but misunderstood, female protagonist as well as the less than ideal box office performance. However, as time goes on it wouldn’t be surprising if “Lisa Frankenstein” joins its big sister film in becoming a cult classic.

Cody uses her own experiences as a teenager to create female driven stories that truly capture what it’s like to be a teenage girl on the outside of the mainstream. She does not shy away from the awkwardness of her characters, making them feel all the more real and endearing to the audience. 

“Lisa Frankenstein” appears to step into the same pitfalls of Cody’s other works with criticisms of the pacing and mashups of genres. The film debuted with a lackluster box office performance that could be blamed on lack of promotion or the competition of Sony’s “Madame Web”. 

The film has a target audience that’s outside of the mainstream and its debut reflects that. In classic Diablo Cody fashion, it’s a film that likely won’t receive appreciation for its strong female characters, social commentary and nuanced humor for several more years. 

“Lisa Frankenstein” is a film existing in its own unique blend of genres and while it does have its missteps, it has more achievements and manages to be entertaining all the way through its hour and forty minute runtime.  

Catch “Lisa Frankenstein” while it’s still in theaters or wait until it’s revived from the dead for its second life.