Lisa Frankenstein Blu Ray Review (Universal)

Lisa Frankenstein is a 2024 horror comedy directed by actress Zelda Williams (Shrimp, Dark/Web, and Kappa Kappa Die). She is the daughter of the iconic comedian Robin Williams. It was written and produced by Diablo Cody (Juno, Jennifer’s Body, Young Adult, Tully, and United States of Tara). It’s set in the same universe as Jennifer’s Body. The budget was $13,000,000 and it grossed $9,927,714 worldwide at the box office. In 1989, Lisa Swallows (played by: Kathryn Newton from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Freaky, Blockers, Abigail, Lady Bird, Paranormal Activity 4, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, and Pokemon: Detective Pikachu) is a lonely teenage girl that still struggles with the loss of her mom. Her father Dale (played by: Joe Chrest from Stranger Things, Assassination Nation, 21 Jump Street, and Ant-Man) remarried a woman named Janet (played by: Carla Gugino from Watchmen, Son In Law, Sucker Punch, American Gangster, Gerard’s Game, The Haunting of Hill House, The Lookout, Sin City, Jaded, and Snake Eyes). She gets a stepsister Taffy (played by: Liza Soberano from Trese, Make it with You, Bagani, and Forevermore) who is very popular cheerleader and she’s nothing like Lisa. Lisa spends most of her time in the local Cemetery as she continues to isolate herself from society. She is gets drugged from people that she tries to be friends with but they take her as a joke. She is almost sexually assaulted by a creepy classmate Doug (played by: Bryce Romero from Scream: The TV Series, Logan, and Maggie) while under the influence. Lisa goes to the cemetery and speaks to the grave of a man who died in 1837. She claims that she wants to be with him but she really means that she wants to be dead just like him. A bolt of lightning strikes the grave after she leaves. He is resurrected as a lovesick zombie. The Creature (played by: Cole Sprouse from Big Daddy, Friends, Riverdale, Grace Under Fire, and Five Feet Apart) breaks into Lisa’s house. Lisa is scared at first but her loneliness caves in. She decides to help the zombie. Lisa has a crush on Michael (played by: Henry Eikenberry from Euphoria and The Crowded Room) and she plans on losing her virginity to him. She tries her best to be social and get his attention but fails. Lisa gets revenge on everyone’s that has wronged her and she starts taking body parts to put The Creature back together. As time goes on, the lonely girl starts to fall for the monster that she’s been helping. Can she change her ways? or Is she slowly losing her grip on reality???? Lisa Frankenstein is destined to be a cult classic someday. It just has that special vibe and everything just comes together perfectly here. I can’t believe that it flopped and it didn’t perform great when it was originally released. I love seeing the 80’s vibe in something made in recent times like this. The script from Diablo Cody is a love letter to that era. I love all the references and nods to familiar classics in Lisa Frankenstein. It’s some of the highest quality work from the acclaimed screenwriter. It has a excellent soundtrack, stylish cinematography, retro production design, unique costume design, and high quality special fx. Kathryn Newton is top notch as the lead in this. She’s the reason to check this out. Her character development is very interesting in Lisa Frankenstein. Cole Sprouse is great as The Creature with his silent performance. He kinda has that weird Johnny Depp vibe to him here. Can you believe this is the little boy from both Big Daddy and Friends from back in the day? That’s wild, he’s really kept after his craft and he turned out to be a very solid actor. I really enjoyed the chemistry between the two leads especially the R.E.O Speedwagon scenes together. Veteran actress Carla Gugino steals every scene that she’s in for Lisa Frankenstein. She’s a quality villain that makes Lisa’s life a living hell. It has a nice supporting cast that includes Joe Chrest, Henry Eikenberry, Liza Soberano, Bryce Romero, Jenna Davis (M3gan), Paola Andino (Every Witch Way), and Charlie Talbert (Darlin’). This is one of the best PG-13 horror movies made in a long time. Unlike most in the sub-genre, it doesn’t feel edited or cut down to fit that universal rating. Lisa Frankenstein has a little bit of everything in it like comedy, drama, horror, and a rather dark romantic aspect to it. I loved the ending, it really tied everything up. It’s streaming on Peacock right now, definitely give it a shot because it’s one of the more impressive horror comedies. It has strong replay value, very fun, and truly entertaining with no dull moments during it’s running time. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Universal Pictures! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer really shines on blu ray. If this would have done better in theaters, it would have definitely gotten a 4K home video release. The visuals are very impressive with this horror comedy with it’s cinematography, production design, costume design, and special fx. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0, and French: DTS 5.1 on the disc. All of the dialogue is crisp, gruesome comedy is elevated, and the music especially the soundtrack has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” with director Zelda Williams. She’s really nervous at first because she’s done something like this before and it’s kinda cute to be honest. She is a little more silent when she starts out. She points out several things that had to be trimmed and cut from the final version. Lisa had so many more movie references in this but most people these days wouldn’t get them so they were removed. There’s some inappropriate jokes and very few scenes that had to be changed to keep their PG-13 rating. She gets very detailed on characters, scenes, music, costume design, influences, production design, and damn near every aspect from the production. I love the fact that she said Bub from Day of the Dead is one of the main inspirations for The Creature. As time goes on, she gets more comfortable and it becomes more steady with her stories. It has almost 4 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” which includes “Get Me Out of Hell!”, “Knock Knock”, “Music Lovers”, “Incredible Friend” and “Breaking News”. “Gag Reel” is a little over 2 minutes. On the audio commentary, the director said that she put together a 4 hour version and she wished it would have made the cut here so I’m kinda shocked that it’s only a few minutes long considering all the original material they had. “An Electric Connection” is almost 5 minutes. It has interviews with the cast and crew from the production. This quick extra covers everything from the script to getting into character for Lisa Frankenstein. “Resurrecting the 80s” is almost 5 minutes. It has interviews with the cast and crew from the horror comedy. Diablo Cody shares her love for the era. She chats about always wanting to do something set in this time. It covers the costume and production design for the movie. The actors express their appreciation for the 80’s in this. “A Dark Comedy Duo” is a little over 4 minutes. It’s an interview with director Zelda Williams, writer Diablo Cody, and others. It focus on the creative team behind Lisa Frankenstein. The cast and crew show their respect for the two women for this project. It also comes with a slipcover and a digital code. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!