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Lisa Frankenstein

2024

Zelda Williams

Carla Gugino, Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Jenna Davis ...

4.8

209

Comedy. Fantasy. Romance. Horror In 1989, an unpopular high school girl named Lisa accidentally re-animates a handsome Victorian corpse during a lightning storm and starts to rebuild him into the man of her dreams by using the broken tanning bed in her garage.

	Media	Author	Review
		Owen Gleiberman Variety	"Diablo Cody scripts a faux outrageous undead teenage horror vomedy that never fnds its joke"
		Dylan Roth The New York Observer	"'Lisa Frankenstein' feels like it arrived on a time machine from the year 1989 (...) Twisted, horny, and bloody Fun (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"
		Leigh Monson AV Club	"Prepare to fall in love with a goth weirdo and her undead BFF in Zelda Williams’ feature debut (...) a pastel gothic ode to the teen girl movies of the ’80s"
		Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times	"'Lisa Frankenstein' has some surface similarities to films such as 'Weird Science' and 'Edward Scissorhands,' but the gross-out gags involving Zombie Boy are more disgusting than hilarious (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"
		Lex Briscuso The Wrap	"It’s clear Williams knows how to tell a story and with 'Lisa Frankenstein' as her first wacky and wonderful calling card, there’s no denying she is a filmmaker to watch."
		David Fear Rolling Stone	"'Lisa Frankenstein' will Make you miss Tim Burton. A lot"
		David Ehrlich IndieWire	"Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse are the saving graces of this half-baked rom-com about a girl who falls in love with her favorite corpse."
		Katie Walsh Los Angeles Times	"Assembled lovingly from many different parts, 'Lisa Frankenstein' flips the switch thanks to an overall commitment from cast and crew"
		David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter	"The movie wants to be a celebration of the defiant weirdo rising above high school conformity, but it’s less subversive than gonzo goofball."
		Taylor Gates Collider	"The elements are charming in and of themselves, but Diablo Cody’s script sets itself apart in how it cleverly ties everything together, making even the smallest, seemingly most innocuous details relevant to the overarching plot."
		Ann Hornaday The Washington Post	"Diablo Cody concocts a drearily derivative screenplay with glib, pseudo-edgy jokes (...) Rating: ½ (out of 4)"
		Benjamin Lee The Guardian	"The Oscar-winning screenwriter aims to recall 80s classics from 'Heathers' to 'Beetlejuice' but there are too many parts missing (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Molly Freeman Screen Rant	"'Lisa Frankenstein' sets out to tell a modern love story in an 80s horror comedy riff, but though it's freaky fun, it's not all that romantic."
		Lauren Coates Chicago Reader	"With an appealing reverence for gothic romance and a willingness to get its hands dirty, 'Lisa Frankenstein' is a sharp -if shallow- horror-comedy"
		Karina Adelgaard Heaven of Horror	"While it has a lot going for it, I found it too long and lacking punch (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Wendy Ide The Guardian	"The screenwriter’s mashup of 80s teen horror tropes falls flat in Zelda Williams’s erratic feature debut (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		John Serba Decider	"The more I think about 'Lisa Frankenstein', the more the shine of a handful of decent laughs wears off"
		Hanna Ines Flint IGN	"Not as memorable as the ’80s and ’90s high-school romps and creepshows it pays tribute to, there's still lots of gory fun to be had with director Zelda Williams’ feature-length debut thanks to Newton's electric lead "
		BJ Colangelo SlashFilm	"A zany, heartfelt, and unapologetically odd story (...) Some people will hate 'Lisa Frankenstein,' but for those who love it, it's going to be one of their favorite films of 2024"
		Kevin Fox Jr. Paste Magazine	"Despite solid performances and hints of daring brilliance, Lisa Frankenstein feels disposable because its winks and nods downplay its uniqueness"
		Kristy Puchko Mashable	"Imagine for a moment the teen dreams of John Hughes collided with the goth and gunk of '80s-era Tim Burton, and you'll have an inkling of what 'Lisa Frankenstein' has in store for you."
		Chandler Levack The Globe and Mail	"Although far less raw and palpitating than the 'Juno' screenplay that turned Cody into an icon almost two decades prior, 'Lisa Frankenstein' illustrates any filmmaker’s good fortune when they get to direct a Diablo Cody script"
		Tomris Laffly rogerebert.com	"'Lisa Frankenstein' doesn’t quite work on any level—not as a comedy, or a coming-of-age flick, or an outlandish love story, leaving us craving for a lot more of each bloody dish it serves up."
		Ella Kemp Empire	"These teens may be a bit messy (who isn’t?) but it’s a joy to have Diablo Cody back to telegraph a new kind of adolescent horror, with a smile full of teeth. (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Brian Truitt USA Today	"The movie marks Cody’s return to horror comedy after the cult classic “Jennifer’s Body,” and her writing is both subtly wry and insightfully poignant. (...) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"
		Valerie Complex Deadline	"The inconsistency in pacing, though reflective of the film's ambition to blend genres and tones, will detract from the cohesiveness of the narrative"
		Justin Clark Slant	"Even as the film revels in violent, necrophiliac delights, Cody’s dialogue, as divisively idiosyncratic as ever, keeps everything grounded with its humor. (...) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"
		Chris Hewitt Minneapolis Star Tribune	"It's an attempt at comedy and romance. Neither works."
		Meagan Navarro Bloody Disgusting	"The epic love story between a dead guy and goth girl falls short, but Newton is so magnetic that you’re hard pressed to care (...) Rating: ★★½ (out of 5)"
		Coleman Spilde The Daily Beast	"It's commendable that the film is so confident in its eccentricity, but its foolish final moments feel insistent making the movie a cult classic"

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