Lisa Frankenstein (2024)
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2025-09 to 2026-08
A misunderstood teenager forms an unexpected bond with a reanimated corpse in this 1980s-inspired romantic horror.
The story
In 1989, a teenager named Lisa Swallows struggles to cope with the loss of her mother while navigating a complicated family dynamic involving her father's new wife. After a distressing experience at a party where she is drugged and harassed, Lisa retreats to a local cemetery she frequently visits. There, she encounters the grave of a man who died in 1837. Following a mysterious bolt of lightning, the man is resurrected as a zombie. Lisa discovers the creature and, instead of fleeing, decides to hide him in her home, leading to an unconventional and burgeoning relationship between the two outcasts.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1989, Lisa Swallows is dealing with the trauma of her mother's death and her father's remarriage. After being drugged and harassed at a party, she visits a cemetery where a bolt of lightning resurrects a man from 1837. Lisa hides the 'Creature' in her closet. When the Creature's presence causes tension with her stepmother, Janet, the Creature kills Janet and hides her body. Lisa and the Creature begin to bond, and Lisa performs 'repairs' on him using a tanning bed and parts from others, including her tormentor Doug and her crush Michael. After a series of escalating events, including the mutilation of Michael and the abandonment of her friend Taffy, Lisa and the Creature flee into the woods. They eventually share a moment of intimacy before Lisa convinces the Creature to burn her alive in a tanning bed to evade the police. In the aftermath, Taffy finds Lisa's grave with a new inscription, while the Creature is shown sitting on a bench with a resurrected Lisa in his lap.
- First release year
- 2024
- Runtime (minutes)
- 101
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Zelda Williams
- Writers
- Diablo Cody · writer
- Cast and characters
- Kathryn Newton · Lisa; Cole Sprouse · The Creature; Liza Soberano; Henry Eikenberry; Joe Chrest; Carla Gugino
- Genres
- romantic comedy; horror; black comedy
- Themes
- loneliness; unconventional love; grief
- Tone and mood
- quirky; dark comedy; 80s vibe
- Premise and plot tags
- romance; horror; comedy; teen
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its visual aesthetic and performances while others criticized its pacing and inconsistent tone.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 47 · scale: 100 · review count: 43
- Production trivia
- The character's name is an homage to a character in the 1985 film Weird Science.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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