Lisa Frankenstein

... a serviceable, fun goth romp.

Just about fun enough to sustain 101 clattering, dusty, dimly lit minutes. Reviews will be mixed. But it has every chance of being resurrected as a cult classic.

Like the creature at the center of it, this starts out creaky... but then, again, like the creature at the center of it, it proceeds to find its feet and indeed its voice.

Like Karyn Kusama’s Jennifer’s Body (2009), also scripted by Diablo Cody, Lisa Frankenstein disinters a murderous monstrousness from female adolescence, empowerment and eros, while gradually reaffirming the (step)sisterhood.

If the central character isn’t consistent or at least credible, what chance does the rest of this sloppily paced, tacked-together mess have?

Cody comes up with some spiky lines... But if ever a film was in need of a 10-gigawatt jolt through the neck, it’s this one.

The best way that I can describe Lisa Frankenstein is that it seems like a film that is destined to be enjoyed by many until the end of time.

Diablo Cody ushers in a valuable new talent in Zelda Williams, Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse continue to hone their talent, and the dark-hearted among us may have found their new favorite movie. 



Many women’s magazines offer tips on snagging the man of your dreams. I would think reanimating a lovelorn Victorian-era corpse isn’t one of them. Shows you what I know.

I don’t think Lisa Frankenstein is epochal enough to age like anything other than milk.