Diablo Cody-Written Horror Comedy ‘Lisa Frankenstein,’ Zelda Williams’ Feature Debut, Set for February — See the First Look

Samantha Bergeson
·3 min read
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Diablo Cody is bringing another undead body back to life with her latest horror-comedy love story.

“Jennifer’s Body” scribe Cody penned “Lisa Frankenstein,” which is directed by Zelda Williams in her feature directorial debut. The upcoming Focus Features film stars “Freaky” breakout Kathryn Newton, who falls in love with her high school crush’s (Cole Sprouse) corpse. The film will be released in theaters February 9.

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Per the official synopsis, the film is as coming of “rage” love story from acclaimed writer Diablo Cody about a misunderstood teenager (Kathryn Newton) who reanimates a Victorian corpse (Cole Sprouse) in 1989 and makes him the man of her dreams. After a set of playfully horrific circumstances bring him back to life (i.e. a crazy lightning storm), the two embark on a murderous journey to find love, happiness…and a few missing body parts along the way.

Liza Soberano, Henry Eikenberry, Joe Chrest, and Carla Gugino also star.

Cody produces the film along with collaborator Mason Novick, who was behind “Juno,” “Tully,” “Jennifer’s Body,” and “Young Adult.” Jeffrey Lampert executive produces.

Production wrapped in New Orleans in September 2022, with director Williams tweeting, “As I dive into post on ‘Lisa Frankenstein,’ I just wanna say how grateful I am to have worked with every single person in this photo. To have crossed the (production) finish line on my first film with all of you will remain one of the most joyful adventures of my life. Thank you.”

Focus Features is distributing “Lisa Frankenstein” in the U.S. with Universal Pictures International handling international distribution.

Oscar-winning screenwriter Cody previously opened up about being linked to the original Sony “Barbie” film in 2018 before Greta Gerwig wrote and directed the Warner Bros. history-making blockbuster.

“I think I know why I shit the bed: When I was first hired for this, I don’t think the culture had not embraced the femme or the bimbo as valid feminist archetypes yet,” Cody told GQ earlier this year. “If you look up ‘Barbie’ on TikTok you’ll find this wonderful subculture that celebrates the feminine, but in 2014, taking this skinny blonde white doll and making her into a heroine was a tall order. That idea of an anti-Barbie made a lot of sense given the feminist rhetoric of 10 years ago. I didn’t really have the freedom then to write something that was faithful to the iconography; they wanted a girl-boss feminist twist on Barbie, and I couldn’t figure it out because that’s not what Barbie is.”

“Lisa Frankenstein” premieres February 9 in theaters. Check out the first look below.

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