Sometimes it’s fun to watch the reactions to a film, and then to watch it for myself, and still enjoy a film that seemingly not many people enjoyed. I think that is very much the case with Lisa Frankenstein, which is currently streaming on peacock with audio description. The directorial debut of Zelda Williams, the daughter of the late Robin Williams, off a script from Juno scribe Diablo Cody. Clearly, Williams has a quirky sense of humor, no doubt influenced by her father, and all the gaming they did together. Robin was a big fan of World Of Warcraft, and played often with his daughter. they even memorialized him with a statue in game. So there’s really no surprise that she would start off with a film that merged humor with fantasy.

This offbeat 80’s themed horror/comedy centers around Lisa (Katherine Newton), a teenager stuck with a new stepmother (Carla Gugino), after her mom was brutally murdered and her dad chooses to remarry. Her stepmother is certainly a piece of work, but her daughter, Lisa’s new stepsister certainly bucks the stereotype of having an entitled mean girl cheerleader. She’s a breath of fresh air, actually deeply invested in her new sisterhood, despite the fact that all of her popular friends see Lisa as an outcast.

On a chance evening in the graveyard, lisa brings back a young man (Cole Sprouse) who died years earlier, and has been slightly decaying. Following his revival, starts a bond of friendship, loss, and a search for belonging, as the undead young man explores a world that is not his own, with a body that is falling apart, and lisa finally feels like she’s found someone who understands her. Perhaps, that’s because he can’t talk. Katherine Newton is giving yet another winning performance to help propel her through her rising star phase, and while as a blind film critic I didn’t get much from Cole Sprouse, everyone has said he’s very expressive, despite not having really any dialogue.

Not only does this film feel like it would be the debut of Williams, but the script with its quick one-liners is so Diablo Cody, who has always tried to have her characters talk as if they were the hippest of them all. This film is more than just and oddball comedy about mismatched star crossed lovers, it’s also still a horror film.

Yes, things happen in this film, bloody, violent, and gory things. And while this film is very infrequently violent, it is occasionally so as the journey to be whole again is a very real concern for our undead male lead. Carla Gugino is sublime in such an unlikeable role. There’s a throwback feel to her character that she embraces, but Gugino hasn’t been this delicious on screen perhaps ever. she’s clearly perfectly cast, and relishing every moment of it.

Sure, it’s not perfect. It has some problems where not everything makes sense, and it pays so much homage it ends up feeling derivative. But, it is a fun time that I enjoyed watching. The audio description did a solid job describing our undead lead, as well as the various 80’s references, and random acts of gore. It all comes together, with the audio description helping to really bring out the vision of Zelda Williams. She absolutely has a promising career ahead of her, and while her start isn’t a home run, she clearly gets on base with this.

Final Grade: B+