Summary
Zelda Williams' 2024Lisa Frankensteinwas a genre-blending horror-romance-comedy that left many viewers looking for something similar to watch next. Written by award-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody and starring modern horror sweetheart Kathryn Newton, Lisa Frankenstein is the story of Lisa Swallows (Newton), a high school outcast who finds love in the form of a zombie. Joining Newton inLisa Frankenstein’scastis Cole Sprouse, who plays The Creature. Together, they attempt to collect new body parts for The Creature by hacking up a few of Lisa’s classmates and family members.
The movie features campy costumes and sets, a bubbly plot, a compelling love story, and quite a few murders.Lisa Frankensteinbalances horror and comedyin a modern way that pays homage to the scary films of the 1980s. Though criticalreviews ofLisa Frankensteinwere generally negative, many audiences fell in love with the movie’s camp and tone. The film reminisces many cult horror comedies from the past 40 years. Here are some of the best movies to follow upLisa Frankenstein.
Lisa Frankenstein Ending Explained: What Happens To Lisa & The Creature
In the eventful finale of Lisa Frankenstein, the two leads embark on a new adventure. Here, we delve into the film’s key insights.
10Totally Killer (2023)
Directed By Nahnatchka Khan
Totally Killeris a time-travel horror comedy that mainly takes place in the 1980s. In the film, Jamie Hughes (Kiernan Shipka) travels back to 1987 and tries to stop her high school-aged mom’s friend group from being murdered by the Sweet 16 Killer.Totally Killeris violent, with comedic elements. The film is more of a slasher than a creature feature, but the sci-fi and timeline similarities toLisa Frankensteinare important. Like most time travel movies,Totally Killercreates its own time travel rules, though even those get convoluted at times.
LikeLisa Frankensteinand many other teen horror comedies,Totally Killeris filled with high school murders and bullies. Produced by Amazon MGM, Ithad a limited theatrical release, instead moving directly to Prime Video. Because of this, the movie was less known than it could have been, especially given its engaging plot and graphic kills.
Totally Killer
Cast
Totally Killer is a 2023 comedy horror film by director Nahnatchka Khan (Always Be My Maybe) created for Prime Video. Jamie, a seventeen-year-old, plans to head out for Halloween night thirty-five years after the murder of her mother’s three friends by a serial killer. When Jamie ignores her mother’s pleas and heads out for the night, she becomes targeted by the infamous “Sweet Sixteen Killer.” However, the chase ends with her being sent back in time to the year it all began- and now Jamie will have to team up with her teenage mother to stop the killer and return home before it’s too late.
9Re-Animator (1985)
Directed By Stuart Gordon
Re-Animatoris a notable film in the undead zombie subgenre of horror. The movie focuses on Dr. Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs), who has figured out how to resurrect the dead, though not without vicious and deadly side effects. The zombies in the film are explained with science rather than magic electricity, as inLisa Frankenstein. The movie was based on a 1922 H.P. Lovecraft serial novelette titled “Herbert West–Reanimator.”
The film also includes many kills in the name of creating a stronger monster. However,Re-Animatoris known for being one of the more gruesome films in the genre, with its initial cut being too gory for even an R rating. Despite this, the film is classified as a horror comedy, with jokes and absurd scenarios sprinkled in. After edits,Re-Animatorwas initially well-received and has since become a cult classic.
Re-Animator
1985’s Re-Animator is a feature-length film based on H.P. Lovecraft’s short story, Herbert West–Reanimator. The Horror and Comedy release follows a man that spends time attempting to create a reagent that will reanimate the dead.
Re-Animator & 9 Other Best 80s Horror Sci-Fi Films
Re-Animator is a seminal example of sci-fi horror from the ’80s, and fans looking for more will
8Spontaneous (2020)
Directed By Brian Duffield
Another coming-of-age horror comedy,Spontaneous, takes place at a school where students begin to combust mysteriously. The movie is also a love story, as Mara Carlyle (Katherine Langford) and Dylan Hovemeyer (Charlie Plummer) begin a romance on a timeline, as, just like Lisa and The Creature, they don’t know when their time together will be over. LikeLisa Frankenstein, Spontaneousalso ends with the death of a main character, though this movie doesn’t allow for zombie resurrections.
However, similar toLisa Frankenstein’soptimistic final note about love,Spontaneousalso has a hopeful ending.Spontaneoushammers home its moral to live life to the fullest. The movie is set apart from many others in the genre because there isn’t necessarily a villain, just a mysterious ailment that kills people.Spontaneousis more of an apocalyptic film than a high school slasher or creature feature, but it shares similar thematic elements.
Spontaneous
Spontaneous is a dark comedy film directed by Brian Duffield. Starring Katherine Langford and Charlie Plummer, the film centers on high school students who face an unexpected crisis when their classmates begin to spontaneously combust. As chaos ensues, the protagonists grapple with the fragility of life and the urgency of their feelings.
Spontaneous Ending Explained: Why The Teens Were Exploding
Spontaneous’s horrific premise comes to a cautiously optimistic conclusion with the movie’s ending. Here are the themes of the finale explained
7Jawbreaker (1999)
Directed By Darren Stein
Jawbreakeris a black comedy crime film filled with poppy colors and campy outfits. It follows a popular high school girl clique (Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, and Julie Benz,) who accidentally kill the fourth member of their group and scramble to cover it up. LikeLisa Frankenstein, the film was inspired byHeathers, which also looks at the high school social hierarchy and how easy it is to cover up a death.
Jawbreakeris not technically a horror movie, but instead, it focuses on high school politics and life’s fleetingness. Much likeLisa Frankenstein, Jawbreakerthematically represents the sweet innocence of high school girls in contrast with the darkness of death. Initial reception of the film was poor, but it has since become a cult classic.
Jawbreaker
Jawbreaker: Released in 1999, Jawbreaker follows a group of teenage socialites who become embroiled in secrecy and deception after accidentally causing their friend’s death. The film explores themes of friendship and betrayal as the girls attempt to cover up the incident.
6Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Directed By Karyn Kusama
Jennifer’s Bodyis another high school creature feature written by Diablo Cody. The film follows Jennifer Check (Megan Fox), who becomes a succubus, much to the chagrin of her best friend Needy (Amanda Seyfried). Jennifer spends the movie seducing and killing their male classmates to feed on them. Apart from their writer, the movies share enough similarities that a theorizedJennifer’s BodyandLisa Frankenstein’sshared universe exists.
Both movies focus on a monster-human friendship with romantic undertones. The main characters in each film are young women who mature and gain a sense of self during supernatural and gory circumstances. Apart from having a female-led cast and a shared writer, both films also have female directors.
Cody won a Best Screenplay Oscar for another famous coming-of-age film,Juno.
Jennifer’s Body
Directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Diablo Cody, Jennifer’s Body is a horror-comedy film starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried. When a newly possessed high school cheerleader (Fox) turns into a succubus specializing in seducing and killing her male classmates, her best friend (Seyfried) is the only thing that stands in the way of her sultry killing spree.
5The Final Girls (2015)
Directed By Todd Strauss-Schulson
The Final Girlstakes a satirical look at the horror genre as it transports a group of high schoolers into a slasher film called “Camp Bloodbath.” Stuck in a time loop, the friends and actors, led by Max Cartwright (Taissa Farmiga), try to survive against a machete-wielding killer. As the characters realize they are in a horror film, they follow the rules they have learned from watching movies over the years.
LikeLisa Frankenstein’ssatirical take on zombies and ’80s movies,The Final Girlsplays with horror tropes, creating comedy and absurdity. The film is packed with comedy actors. BothThe Final GirlsandLisa Frankensteinare homages to 1980s horror films, honoring traditional movie elements while lampooning the clichés.The Final Girlsreceived generally positive reviews from critics in 2015, though the film remains relatively unknown.
4My Boyfriend’s Back (1993)
Directed By Bob Balaban
LikeLisa Frankenstein, My Boyfriend’s Backis a horror comedy about a zombie boyfriend. In the film, Johnny Dingle (Andrew Lowery) returns from the dead to try to get together with his crush, Missy McCloud (Traci Lind). Though initially justifiably skeptical, Missy agrees to a date with zombie Johnny. The movie is more about Johnny’s experience than Missy’s, but the underlying themes are reminiscent of those inLisa Frankenstein.
My Boyfriend’s Backreceived negative reviews at the time, with many claiming that the movie couldn’t settle on the right tone. The concept was initially several sketches that were later combined to create a full-length film. LikeLisa Frankenstein, it is one of the few romances between a zombie-boyfriend and a human-girlfriend. Plus, with its early 1990s release, the films are set in the same era.My Boyfriend’s Backalso has appearances from several notable actors, including Cloris Leachman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Matthew McConaughey in his first role.
3Freaky (2020)
Directed By Christopher Landon
Kathryn Newton has proven herself a modern scream queen in many horror roles. Newton starred in the 2020 horror comedyFreaky. The movie is an homage toFreaky Friday, where Newton’s Millie Kessler switches bodies with the local serial killer, the Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn). The movie follows Millie as she has to convince her friends to believe in body swapping and the Butcher, who finds murdering is much easier in the body of a teenage girl.
LikeLisa Frankenstein,Freakycombines horror with comedy. The kills are gruesome, while the plot is absurd, amplified by Vaughn and Newton’s comedic yet scary performances. Newton nails the role of a ruthless murderer, conducting a plethora of fantastic kills, including in a cryogenic chamber and with a table saw.
Freaky
Freaky is a film directed by Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day 2U) and centers around a young girl in high school that swaps bodies with a deranged serial killer. When four teenagers are found dead, the Blissfield Butcher’s re-emergence has made the town somewhat on alert. While waiting for her ride home at the end of a football game, Millie Kessler is attacked by the butcher with a mysterious dagger called La Dola, which then swaps the two into one another’s bodies in a Freaky Friday-like fashion. Millie discovers that to get back to her original body, she needs to get her friends and family to believe that their bodies have swapped - and she needs to reverse the ritual in twenty-four hours, or the switch will remain permanent.
Lisa Frankenstein vs Freaky: Which Comedy Horror is Better?
Kathryn Newton stars in both Freaky and Lisa Frankenstein, but one of these horror comedies is better than the other.
2Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Directed By Tim Burton
LikeLisa Frankenstein,Edward Scissorhandstells the story of a (relatively) normal girl who falls in love with a monster. The movie focuses on Edward (Johnny Depp), who joins the Boggs family despite his gruesome and monstrous appearance. There, he and Kim (Winona Ryder) begin to see each other in a romantic light, both feeling understood by the other. Edward is caring and introverted in a similar style to Lisa Frankenstein’s monster. There is an undeniable connection between the characters, as both movies tell the story of loving an outcast and feeling lost as a teenager.
Both movies are also similar in their levels of campiness. In Burton’s classic fashion, the world ofEdward Scissorhandsis uncanny and relatively perfect, making it unnerving.Lisa FrankensteinandEdward Scissorhandsboth use bright, unnatural colors to add a fantastical element to a seemingly ordinary world in which monsters exist.
Edward Scissorhands
From director Tim Burton, Edward Scissorhands follows the titular character, an artificial human created by an inventor, who has scissor blades instead of fingers. After his creator’s death, Edward is taken in by a normal suburban family and becomes attracted to the family’s teenage daughter, Kim Boggs. Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder star as Edward and Kim.
1Heathers (1989)
Dirceted By Michael Lehmann
Heathersis a black comedy that shifted the tone from the light-hearted coming-of-age movies of the 1980s. It follows Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) as she teams up with brooding JD (Christian Slater), who is on a crusade to end the suffering of high schoolers, namely by ending their lives. The similarities betweenHeathersandLisa Frankensteinare vast, but a main one is the romantic element between a macabre girl and her morbid boyfriend.
Heathershas the 1980s vibe thatLisa Frankensteintries to emulate, complete with big, poofy hair and retro phrases. Lisa’s over-the-top wardrobe borders on a parody of the late 1980s style, but it only adds to the movie’s camp.Lisa Frankensteinis a great companion film forHeathers, as they both tell similar stories in similar settings but were created in vastly different contexts.
Heathers
Heathers is a dark comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann, featuring Winona Ryder as Veronica Sawyer and Christian Slater as J.D. Released in 1989, the story delves into high school social hierarchies and the consequences of rebelling against popular cliques. The film addresses themes of teen angst, peer pressure, and the impact of destructive behavior within a satirical framework.
Lisa Frankenstein
Lisa Frankenstein is a comedic fantasy-horror film by first-time director Zelda Williams and is a twist on the classic Frankenstein formula. Set in 1989, a high school outcast named Lisa accidentally revives a handsome corpse from the Victorian era and resolves to rebuild him into the perfect man.
