Lisa Frankenstein, Zelda Williams film review

Zelda Williams’ directorial debut, just released on DVD, is a grotesque horror-comedy that suffers slightly from Diablo Cody’s uncertain screenplay, but has a non-trivial flair for the visuals.

A satirical horror-comedy, a bizarre story of women’s liberation, boasting notable names such as… Diablo Cody To scenario e Zenda Williams As a director (the first feature film of the late daughter of Robin). The home video release with Plaion Pictures’ DVD is an opportunity to explore Lisa FrankensteinThis is the movie we will see in this reviewalthough a commercial failure, cannot help but arouse curiosity due to its extravagance.

But we have to tune in to the crazy and exaggerated tunes, grotesquesilly at times, which can certainly be indigestible, but absorbing mood to Lisa Frankenstein One can’t help but appreciate the irony and the obvious reference to Tim Burton ringtoneseven if it certainly doesn’t have the power and influence of the Californian director’s work.

A high school girl is sad, marginalized, and a corpse revives

In Lisa Frankenstein, the heroes are young students who struggle with their illnesses and disorders, but forget about smartphones and social media. In fact, here we are at the end of the 1980s, and the Lisa of the title (played by Kathryn Newton) is her A lonely and marginalized high school student, who recently lost his mother in a violent manner among other things. The girl goes to live with her father (an abnormally cold man) and his new partner (Carla Gugino), with whom she has a complicated relationship, to say the least. Furthermore, the woman in turn has a daughter, Tavi (Lisa Soberano), a popular cheerleader at school, who, in contrast to Lisa, struggles to fit in and feels misunderstood.

To confirm his unilateral plan, Lisa has a rather shocking hobby, spending her days in a small, unconsecrated cemetery near her home, drawn above all by the tombstone of a boy who died a century ago. Rather strangely, during a thunderstorm The boy’s corpse comes back to life He introduces himself to Lisa, who, between unexpected accidents and calculated murders, with the help of a tanning bed (yes!), gradually complements him with pieces of other beings, making him more presentable and human. But it will also gradually witness a new transformation and awareness.

Strong aesthetic taste, but faltering text

You will have already understood it from the plot, as we said before, connect with it Hideous ringtones to Lisa Frankenstein It’s not a simple matter. Among other things, the clunky screenplay, combined with the director’s inevitable flaw of inexperience, exacerbates the feeling of unease. However, it is in the breaks from the scenes and in the midst of the somewhat disjointed story that one must become familiar with the film Strong aesthetic taste: To be appreciated above all how it manages to immerse the viewer in the era Brave choices of lights and colours.

All while being able to clearly separate Lisa’s very private world Bright colours, quirky clothes and bold colours, compared to the rest of the world, which is much darker and more miserable. A gap that gradually widens, leading up to the fluorescent neon colors that highlight Lisa’s development. A development that will drag her into an irresistible development Magic to liberate violence And particularly brutal. It must also be recognized that some scenes, such as Lisa’s journey or one of the recent murders, indicate vitality and taste in the construction of the picture.

Zelda Williams reveals an Easter egg connected to her father Robin found in her film Lisa Frankenstein

A combination of genres doesn’t always work, but Lisa’s stepsister surprises everyone

Besides Lisa there are two main characters: the first is him Activated corpse (Cole Sprouse, who won’t say a word) comes out of the grave that the girl is visiting. A corpse that suddenly, as it gradually transforms, looks a lot like Johnny Depp, especially that version Edward’s hands scissors (Speaking of Burtonian tones). Between the two there is a strange and harrowing story of friendship, but it is always on the verge of blossoming into something more, even if it has only Michael Trent (Henry Eikenberry), the director of the school’s literary magazine, at its head.

The second non-trivial letter is Taffy’s half-sisterwhich by the standards of certain kinds of films set in a school setting, is certainly unsettling and commendable in some ways: she is very different from Lisa, and yet Honest understanding Despite all her misfortunes, she is definitely affectionate despite the fact that her friends and the entire school make fun of her stepsister. A positive message that warms the heart even in an eccentric and extravagant context. In the end, the mixture of romance and horror, laughter and fear, comedy and drama, is not always successful and well-calibrated, and on the other hand, it was difficult for it to be, especially when you want to put a lot of iron. fire. But the aesthetic taste and secondary characters are positives that elevate it into a film worth watching.

DVD: Good video and audio, but no extras

As said now Lisa Frankenstein Available now thanks DVD By Plaion, a stripped-down product with no extras, but technically valid, starting with a video Which manages to reproduce the strong colors of the film very well, even with satisfactory detail. Images manage to limit the format’s typical blemishes, which are particularly apparent in dark scenes and against some backgrounds, but not in an alarming way. And the most convincing isMy voiceDolby Digital 5.1 for the Italian and original, which envelops pleasantly in the more lively sequences and in the soundtrack, with good use of the rear axle and a discreet presence of bass, while the dialogues are always clean and of good timbre.