A lonely teen has her undead crush brought back to life, and he just might be the man of her morbid dreams. Written by Diablo Cody and the directorial debut of Zelda Williams, Lisa Frankenstein is an adoringly creepy and unabashedly edgy horror rom-com that’ll make you swoon — and maybe a little grossed out.
Lisa (Kathryn Newton) has recently relocated in her senior year of high school to live with her detached father and mean-spirited stepmother (Carla Gugino). Though Lisa’s uber-popular stepsister (Liza Soberano) has tried to help her fit in, her classmates still find her to be the “weird” girl.
It doesn’t help that Lisa spends her spare time in a creepy old graveyard where she daydreams at the tomb of a young man who has been dead for a hundred years. But soon, she won’t have to imagine him, as he’s spontaneously reanimated and zombie shuffles his way into her heart, wreaking a bit of havoc on her life.
Although inspired by the classic novel of Mary Shelley, Lisa Frankenstein is not just another average adaptation of the story. It’s a mixture of teen feminist rage and a macabre love story. The sardonic writing style of Cody is evident in the film, and it radiates from the screen with the same cynical and dry humor that was seen in Jennifer’s Body — and the whole cast eats it up.
Newton, who slayed hearts in Freaky, has once again proven her talent in the horror-comedy genre. In her latest role as Lisa, she delivers a wonderfully chaotic performance, transforming from an awkward nerd to a goth goddess with ease. Her almost-mad-scientist-like mannerisms add an extra layer of depth to the character, even though the film doesn’t delve much into the scientific specifics.
Despite having almost no lines, Cole Sprouse delivers some great physical comedy. His performance often reminded me of Vincent D’Onofrio’s memorable turn as an alien humanoid in Men in Black.
The two have a nice dynamic, and I enjoyed that their characters built a connection mostly based on their quirkiness rather than a fiery romance — sort of playing a different game of will-they/won’t-they.
As mentioned before, Lisa Frankenstein serves as Williams’ feature-length directorial debut, and she did an excellent job of capturing the essence of teenage angst and effectively bridging the gap between different genres. She had a lot of fun with the 80s aesthetic, which brought a delightful tone to the film, but I appreciated that it didn’t feel like a complete satire of the decade.
You can tell both her and Cody’s morbid curiosities come into play in the film, which makes it all the more entertaining.
And there are also so many enjoyable supporting characters — big and small. Gugino gives off an unbelievably campy performance. But more notably, Soberano, as Lisa’s stepsister Taffy, is a true scene-stealer and so effortless in her comedy.
I’m someone who can’t help but love a weird little love story, and this gave me such Edward Scissorhands vibes, but also felt very much its own thing. I truly adored every second of Lisa Frankenstein.
Lisa Frankenstein is in theaters Friday
Jordy Reviews It 
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