Blu-ray Review: LISA FRANKENSTEIN

Home » Blu-ray Review: LISA FRANKENSTEIN

Apr 02 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Lisa Frankenstein is a dark romantic comedy. It’s 1989, and high school senior Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton, Freaky) is still coming to terms with the loss of her mother, who was shockingly killed by an axe murderer 2 years earlier. Her father, Dale (Joe Chrest, Stranger Things), has since gotten re-married, and they’ve moved in with his new wife Janet (Carla Gugino, The Fall of the House of Usher) and her daughter Taffy (Liza Soberano, Make It with You). Taffy and Lisa may be the same age, but they couldn’t be any more different. Taffy is a perky cheerleader, though a bit dim, while Lisa is more of an artistic loner and outcast, who likes to hang out in the local cemetery and take rubbings of gravestones. She also works part time as a seamstress at a nearby cleaner. Taffy isn’t your typical self-centered popular girl. She’s good-hearted and genuinely excited to have a new family and stepsister, and is constantly trying to help Lisa break out of her shell.

Lisa agrees to go to a party, but ends up accidentally taking some PCP. While wandering home through the graveyard, and feeling slightly depressed, Lisa caresses one of her favorite grave markers, and wishes that she was with the man buried there. Later that evening, lightning strikes the grave, and soon a young undead Victorian man (or at least most of him), makes his way into Lisa’s home. The Creature (Cole Sprouse, Riverdale) can’t speak, and he’s also missing some body parts, such as an ear and a hand. After the initial shock wears off, Lisa helps the young man get himself cleaned off and into some fresh clothes (complete with the obligatory rom-com musical outfit montage). The Creature desperately wants to tell Lisa how much he’s in love with her, but he’s unable to communicate this. To show his affection, The Creature decides to protect Lisa from the bad people in her life, killing someone who is being threatening and abusive towards her. At first Lisa is a bit shocked, but then starts to realize that she enjoys the rush of the murder. As for The Creature, there’s the added benefit of now having a replacement for his missing ear, which Lisa is able to reattach using her skills as a seamstress. However, since this is a Frankenstein story, a jolt of electricity is also required to bring the new ear to life, and a malfunctioning tanning bed in the garage will do the trick.

After the murder, Lisa almost immediately starts to change, growing more outgoing and confident. She also starts to change how she dresses (thanks to some suggestions from The Creature). But that taste of blood was just the beginning, and the murderous Bonnie and Clyde start going on a killing spree, taking out more bad people in Lisa’s life. With each new body part and a quick trip to the tanning bed, The Creature begins to look more and more human. However, instead of falling for him, Lisa continues to be stuck on her crush, classmate Michael Trent (Henry Eikenberry). Will The Creature be forever relegated to the friend zone or can he win over Lisa’s heart? And with the body count rising, will this murderous duo’s crimes ever catch up to them?

Lisa Frenkenstein takes the Frankenstein story and gives it a bit of a dark, campy romantic-comedy twist. The story comes from writer Diablo Cody (Young Adult, United States of Tara, Juno), and features her signature style of humor. There is a lot of witty dialogue and quotable one-liners that will have you laughing (or at the very least smiling) throughout. The characters are a lot of fun, brought to life (so to speak) by a talented and comedic cast. Kathryn Newton plays both sides of Lisa to perfection. Lisa starts off as this loner ignored by everyone, but when she meets The Creature, she finally has someone in her life who truly listens to her. She then starts to become much more confident and outgoing. But despite that, she’s blinded by her crush and doesn’t realize the great (though undead) guy who’s right in front of her, and whom she is literally forming into the perfect man. Speaking of The Creature, this is a very physically-demanding role, especially since he doesn’t speak, Cole Sprouse’s comedic timing is impeccable, and he’s able to convey so much emotion without any words. In addition to his grunts, there’s a lot of physical humor—whether it’s a gimpy walk, or a humorous facial expression—that leads to hilarious moments, and add to the charm of this mute being. There is also this fun contract of him being this Victorian gentleman living in the 1980s. That said, the person who seemed to steal the scenes she was in is Liza Soberano. There is this sweet, naïve innocence to Taffy, who gets so excited by everything. Some of the stupid things she says had me laughing out loud.

The film does an excellent job of transporting the viewer back to the 1980s. The first thing you notice is the big hair, and pastel pink and seafoam décor of not just Lisa’s home, but in the color palette of the film in general. The looks and costumes really evoke the era, plus there’s the movie’s amazing soundtrack, which includes songs by bands such as REO Speedwagon, When in Rome, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Chameleons, Jeffrey Osborne, Strange Galaxie 500, The Pixies, and more.

Sure there are some things that don’t make complete sense—like how does The Creature know how to start and drive a car, or how does Lisa understand some of The Creature’s grunts but is confused by others, or some other spoilery things I can’t really mention here. But this is the type of movie where you just let logic go by the wayside and just enjoy the campy ride.

Universal has released Lisa Frankenstein on Blu-ray and DVD, and it is also available in 4K digitally. We received the Blu-ray release for review. The picture generally looks really good, with a very slight sense of film grain, likely added on purpose to achieve more of a throwback and stylized look. The film deploys a lot of blue, green and red tones to help evoke the 1980s look, as well as black and white for the fun opening titles and a dream sequence. Overall the picture provides a nice level of detail in faces and textures, and looks quite pleasant. The audio track also shines, providing clear dialogue throughout, and making excellent use of the stereo and surround channels to give the film a more immersive feel. This is especially noticeable near the beginning during the storm/thunder sequence.

The Blu-ray disc resides in a standard HD keepcase, along with an embossed carboard slipcover, and an insert containing a code to redeem for an HD MA digital copy of the film. The disc includes a director commentary as well as nearly 20 minutes of other bonus material—deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a trio of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and filmmakers.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:41:06)

1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), French 5.1 DTS Digital Surround
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital (code may not be valid after 6/30/2025):

HD Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)

Extras:
Play All, or select from:

Deleted Scenes (3:37)
Collection of 5 deleted/alternate scenes- Play All, or select from:
- Get Me Out of Hell! (:27)
  A crazy woman in a bloody medical gown attacks Lisa in the cemetery.
- Knock Knock (:41)
  Lisa hears knocking while watching her scary movie, and when she answer the door, it’s The Creature.
- Music Lovers (:28)
  While Lisa tries to clean the blood off her bedroom floor, The Creature listens to music via headphones.
- Incredible Friend (1:39)
  Lisa and The Creature dump a body into the lake, and she once again refers to him as a good friend.
- Breaking News (:22)
  TV news report about the aftermath of the fire.
Gag Reel (2:26)
Collection of outtakes with the cast as they flub lines, laugh, and have fun on set.
An Electric Connection (4:43)
The cast and crew discuss the premise and themes of the film, the relationship between Lisa and the Creature, casting the roles, the physicality of the Creature, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with writer/producer Diablo Cody, director Zelda Willaims, and stars Kathryn Newton (“Lisa”), Cole Sprouse (“The Creature”) & Liza Soberano (“Taffy”).
Resurrecting the 1980’s (4:34)
The cast and crew discuss setting the film in the ’80s and recreating the look and feel of the era, including the hair, costumes, music, locations and sets, the tanning bed, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with writer/producer Diablo Cody, director Zelda Willaims, hair department head Donna Spahn-Jones, costume designer Meagan McLaughlin Luster, producer Mason Novick, production designer Mark Worthington, and stars Cole Sprouse, Kathryn Newton, Liza Soberano & Henry Eikenberry (“Michael Trent”) & Carla Gugino (“Janet”).
A Dark Comedy Duo (4:01)
The cast and crew discuss the comedic tone of the script, and what it was like working with the director. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director Zelda Willaims, writer/producer Diablo Cody, producer Mason Novick, and stars Kathryn Newton, Carla Gugino, Cole Sprouse & Liza Soberano.
Feature Commentary With Director Zelda Williams (1:41:06)
Director Zelda Williams provides an informative commentary, discussing the opening titles, sharing some fun behind-the-scenes stories about the production and sets, pointing out some of the changes that were made to go from R to PG-13, and more. While entertaining overall, there are some longer gaps of silence throughout.

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Recommended

Lisa Frankenstein is a fun, darker take on a romantic comedy, with quirky characters, some hilarious moments and a wonderful, likeable cast. The film has a unique style and look that does an excellent job of recreating the 1980s setting and sensibility. Occasionally it may feel like the film is trying a bit too hard to be odd and weird, but that may just be the campy tone the movie is going for. Universal’s Blu-ray looks and sounds great, and includes some really entertaning bonus material. While I think the film is certainly worth a look, those on the fence about a blind buy can check out the movie on Peacock, where it’s currently streaming.