Director: Zelda Williams
Starring: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Liza Soberano, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest, and Carla Gugino
Movie Length: 1 hour 41 minutes
This past weekend I had a bit of a girlfriend date with my bestie and she took me to see Lisa Frankenstein. Going into the movie I didn’t know what it was really about, an outcast girl is lonely and she brings back an undead boyfriend? Okay sure, I’ll just close my eyes during all the zombie parts cause eww no.
This was not at all the right idea about this movie, it was so much more and very funny in that campy kind of way. I can definitely see a cult following for it later on, since it doesn’t seem like everyone is flocking to go see this movie in theaters. As they should be doing.
Lisa Frankenstein is about a girl named Lisa (duh), who is going through a rough time after moving in with her new step-mom and step-sister. Not adjusting to normal life after this and many other traumatic changes in her life, she ends up in a twisted murderous romantic relationship with an undead corpse. Finally finding true acceptance and love, Lisa and her corpse boyfriend try to find a happy ending where they can be together.
I also found out after the movie, as my friend and I were discussing it afterwards that it was directed by a woman (Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda Williams in her directorial debut) and written by a woman as well (Diablo Cody). My first thought was like what else have these ladies worked on, because I want to see more. This could not be more perfect and pleasantly surprising.
Since seeing the movie, it seems like my friend and I can’t stop talking about different aspects of it that we loved or found interesting. We are already planning to see it again this upcoming weekend and have a more indepth talk about it, because once was not enough.
Yes the movie was cheesy at times, and just so obviously funny that it seemed too well placed. But, it was nice to hear the normal everyday female voice speak without a care in the world or the reactions of people hearing about periods at different times throughout the movie. No one made a big deal about it or did any super “ewwww, gross” moments in reaction to what was being said. It wasn’t like an insane amount of detail was given about the female topics of periods and ways to handle them. Just brief mentions and the audience laughing because we were in on the jokes because it’s a “woman thing”.
The fashion and sets for scenes was another thing that stopped me in my tracks, as I like to say I’m not a fan of the 80’s and 90’s for movies. But with the movie taking place in 1989, we had the Walkman, permed hair, and short skirts over leggings. Fun, especially with how the MC Lisa gained her confidence in wearing more daring clothes that fit her personality. As for the sets, they did a phenomenal job smoothlessly changing one to the next when showing fevered dreams that were morbid in a cute way.
The humor was also very dark and my bestie and I felt bad for busting out laughing through many intervals in the movie. I felt like I was just too loud but could not stop myself, especially when I started cheering for the couple in their killing (some people just sucked in the movie, ok?). There were also times where we were swooning over the love and chemistry between the two leads, Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse, because they were just that sweet to see.
I could go on and on at this point, and all I can really say is give the movie a shot. It’s dark, funny, horror filled with a dash of sweet teenage romance, and a must see.
Ali’s rating: A
Lisa Frankenstein is now in theaters.
Are you going to see the movie? Have you already? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Twitter/X at @TheConCollectve, Threads at @theconventioncollective, or Bluesky at @theconcollective.bsky.social
We’re always looking for new writers that are truly passionate about stuff – we give you the review materials, the platform and the support to say what you feel from the heart. If you’d like to write opinion pieces about pop culture topics or reviews, reach out to us using the contact us form
