Lisa Frankenstein (2024)
Directed by Zelda Williams
In 1989, a misunderstood teenager has a high school crush — who just happens to be a handsome corpse! After a set of playfully horrific circumstances bring him back to life, the two embark on a murderous journey to find love, happiness…and a few missing body parts along the way.
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5 films that influenced Lisa Frankenstein
What critics say influenced Lisa Frankenstein
As for the obvious Tim Burton flair of the film (including the house and neighborhood exteriors), it's in large part because of how much Lisa reminds one of Ryder's characters in Beetlejuice and Heathers, with McLaughlin adding, “Winona Ryder is a huge influence for me in that period, and we were absolutely inspired by her costumes in Beetlejuice and Heathers.
Lisa is in the vein of Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice, though to call her a successor to the character would be overstating things.
In practice, it's like a gothic negative print of She's All That filtered through early Burtonesque whimsy, a la Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice.
This narrative is cut from the same cloth as a film like Beetlejuice (1988) and really mixes horror and comedy well.
As for the obvious Tim Burton flair of the film (including the house and neighborhood exteriors), it's in large part because of how much Lisa reminds one of Ryder's characters in Beetlejuice and Heathers, with McLaughlin adding, “Winona Ryder is a huge influence for me in that period, and we were absolutely inspired by her costumes in Beetlejuice and Heathers.
The fatal undoing of “Lisa Frankenstein” has nothing to do with the weirdo wish fulfillment behind Diablo Cody's very Diablo Cody screenplay, which is rock-solid even if it cleaves a lot closer to the sociopathy of Lucky McKee's “May” than it does to the sorrow of its namesake.
The story has been moulded into numerous adaptations, parodies and spoofs, including Young Frankenstein (1974), Blackenstein (1973), Frankenhooker (1990), Frankenweenie (2012), and, most recently, Lisa Frankenstein (2024).
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The last Cody screenplay to be produced for the big screen was 2018's Tully, which, ironically, was more audacious in its depiction of a postpartum breakdown than anything Lisa gets up to, including the various dismemberments.
Diablo Cody is the writer behind Juno, Young Adult and Tully, but Jennifer's Body is one of those special horror films that was ahead of its time when it hit theaters.
Cody, the Oscar-winning scribe of Juno, has such a distinct voice that you can't help but liken this film to her other acerbic works like Tully and Young Adult.