A new image from the gothic horror romantic comedy Lisa Frankenstein has been released. Spooky season might be over, but horror comedies are showing no signs of slowing down, as films like Poor Things prove with its positive reviews and box office response. Poor Things gives an eccentric take on the classic tale of Frankenstein’s monster, as Emma Stone is brought back to life and must experience the world through a fresh pair of eyes. Lisa Frankenstein follows a similar concept as the title would suggest, the film is another version of Mary Shelley‘s Frankenstein.
The film stars Kathryn Newton (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), Cole Sprouse (Riverdale), Joe Chrest (Stranger Things), Henry Eikenberry (Euphoria), and Carla Gugino (The Fall of the House of Usher) in Zelda Williams‘ directorial debut. Williams has partnered with Academy Award winner Diablo Cody, someone who’s no stranger to dark, twisted horror comedies. Cody helmed the 2009 film Jennifer’s Body starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried. Initially, the film was released to mixed reviews grossing $31,556,061 worldwide at the box office. However, as time passed, Jennifer’s Body became a cult classic, with fans arguing the film was ahead of its time and misunderstood. And now, over a decade later, Cody is returning to her roots of angsty, teen, horror comedy.
What is ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ About?
The trailer for Lisa Frankenstein outlines that the film takes place against the backdrop of the vivid 1980s. Newton portrays the young teenage goth Lisa Swallows who decides to do the impossible, breathe life back into a handsome corpse from the Victorian era. You know, just your typical Friday night plans. On the night of an intense lightning storm, Lisa uses a malfunctioning tanning bed to make her dream a reality as she wants to build what she believes to be the ideal perfect beau. Of course, things take a turn when Lisa and her new Frankenstein boyfriend discover that he’s missing a few essential body parts. As the film unravels, the two must depend on each other as they embark on a romantic, playful, and horrific journey in a heartwarming yet disturbing tale.
When speaking with Empire, Cody reveals how she developed the story for Lisa Frankenstein, “I thought: ‘What if a teenage girl had the ultimate sensitive guy who can’t talk? What would that look like and how would we animate him?’ Then once I thought of [a faulty] tanning bed, we were off to the races.” And when it came to the Frankenstein aspect of the story, Cody has a few strong opinions, “It was funny to me how the whole Frankenstein narrative was co-opted in the ‘80s by movies like Weird Science where they were like, ‘What if we could create the perfect woman?’ You see that theme across genres, and I felt like nobody was making a ‘building a man’ movie except The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I love, and which we reference in the film.”
Lisa Frankenstein is scheduled for a theatrical release on February 9, 2024. Check out the new image below:
via Collider