Add one part John Hughes, Tim Burton, and a huge dash of Heathers and you get the utterly charming and delightfully dark horror rom-com Lisa Frankenstein.
Tone is everything in film.
That would go doubly so with any film attempting to mix horror and comedy. The mashup is as enticing as peanut butter and chocolate but when done incorrectly it becomes as dangerous as arsenic and old lace. The balance must be perfect or as close to perfect as possible. They can intermingle (as peanut butter and chocolate can) but not so much as both lose their flavor.
Lisa Frankenstein is the result when that balance is done right. Featuring a truly wonderfully adroitly acidic script by Diablo Cody. Winning performances by Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse. This one will surprise in its Hughes-inspiration-done-right and just how dark its violence is willing to go.
Director Zelda Williams manages to take all of the quirks, charms, homages, and style of the script by Cody and wrestle it into something wholly her own. There is a quirk to the darkness that invokes Tim Burton, but Williams’s style never feels as precious or austere as Burton’s. The work she does with cinematographer Paula Huidobro is as sharp and attuned as any debut feature film of recent memory.
Williams beyond understanding how to bring Cody’s script visually to the screen, she’s a marvel with the actors. Newton and Sprouse are as about as great a pair as Winona Ryder and Christian Slater were in Heathers. The way they charmingly navigate what the plot requires of them and how fun and funny they make it is a testament to both actors’ gifts. Newton’s work here is on par with her work on Freaky. The way Lisa is so likable in the darkest of moments is sure to win Newton an even larger fan base. Sprouse is the surprise here in a role that is largely speechless. The way that the actor pulls out emotions and comedy is a loving homage and very much akin to Johnny Depp’s Edward Scissorhands.
One will want to make room for Lisa Frankenstein as it is sure to crawl into the hearts of those who love Heathers as much as they love Pretty in Pink.
Lisa Frankenstein Is In Theaters Nationwide on Friday, February 9th
Add one part John Hughes, Tim Burton, and a huge dash of Heathers and you get the utterly charming and delightfully dark horror rom-com Lisa Frankenstein.
Tone is everything in film.
That would go doubly so with any film attempting to mix horror and comedy. The mashup is as enticing as peanut butter and chocolate but when done incorrectly it becomes as dangerous as arsenic and old lace. The balance must be perfect or as close to perfect as possible. They can intermingle (as peanut butter and chocolate can) but not so much as both lose their flavor.
Lisa Frankenstein is the result when that balance is done right. Featuring a truly wonderfully adroitly acidic script by Diablo Cody. Winning performances by Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse. This one will surprise in its Hughes-inspiration-done-right and just how dark its violence is willing to go.
Director Zelda Williams manages to take all of the quirks, charms, homages, and style of the script by Cody and wrestle it into something wholly her own. There is a quirk to the darkness that invokes Tim Burton, but Williams’s style never feels as precious or austere as Burton’s. The work she does with cinematographer Paula Huidobro is as sharp and attuned as any debut feature film of recent memory.
Williams beyond understanding how to bring Cody’s script visually to the screen, she’s a marvel with the actors. Newton and Sprouse are as about as great a pair as Winona Ryder and Christian Slater were in Heathers. The way they charmingly navigate what the plot requires of them and how fun and funny they make it is a testament to both actors’ gifts. Newton’s work here is on par with her work on Freaky. The way Lisa is so likable in the darkest of moments is sure to win Newton an even larger fan base. Sprouse is the surprise here in a role that is largely speechless. The way that the actor pulls out emotions and comedy is a loving homage and very much akin to Johnny Depp’s Edward Scissorhands.
One will want to make room for Lisa Frankenstein as it is sure to crawl into the hearts of those who love Heathers as much as they love Pretty in Pink.
Lisa Frankenstein Is In Theaters Nationwide on Friday, February 9th
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