Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

Lisa Frankenstein can’t decide if it’s a sleepover comedy or a horror movie, so it spends 101 minutes being a little of both and not enough of either. Diablo Cody wrote it, Zelda Williams directed it, and the 1989 production design is a total treat. Kathryn Newton plays Lisa, a misfit still mourning her mom, stuck with a dad who remarried a self-absorbed woman named Janet and a stepsister, Taffy, who is way nicer than she has to be. Lisa’s idea of a good afternoon is chatting with a headstone in the local cemetery, the resting place of a 19th-century pianist. One lightning strike later, he’s up and walking. Cole Sprouse plays the Creature, who can’t speak, and still makes him oddly sweet. Keeping him going involves Taffy’s tanning bed, the movie’s best gag. Critics landed at 52% on Rotten Tomatoes. A 5.0 because it looks great and wanders all over the graveyard. $287.02 says you walk past a tanning salon this year and laugh out loud with nobody to explain it to.

What works: Kathryn Newton is sharp and funny as Lisa, Cole Sprouse finds real sweetness in a role with no lines, and the 1989 production design looks great.

What doesn’t: The tone is stuck between teen comedy and horror, the scenes feel shapeless, and the central romance never gets enough room to grow.

Who it’s for: Grown-ups who were raised on ’80s horror comedies and want a goofy, gothic throwback for a movie night.