Lisa Frankenstein | Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda makes her directorial debut, but what is the film about?

If the film “Poor Things” alluded to Mary Shelley’s classic tale, “Frankenstein,” then there should be no allusions to what “Lisa Frankenstein,” written by “Juno” creator Diablo Cody, is all about. It is exactly what the movie title suggests - absolutely no frills.

But what makes “Lisa Frankenstein” an interesting release, as it opens in cinemas in the United States this week and in the United Kingdom next month, is who is helming the film in the director chair - Zelda Williams, the daughter of the late comedic great Robin Williams. “Lisa Frankenstein” marks her first full-length debut, after the success of her short film, “Shrimp” in 2018 which she also wrote and starred in.

But Williams’ approach is more ‘80s John Hughes inspired it would appear rather than the gothic horror of Mary Shelley. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Williams admitted: “I miss movies that felt more like “Beetlejuice”, where it had an enormous amount of unhinged, unobstructed creative and colourful wildness to it,” as she cited “Day of the Dead,” “Death Becomes Her” and “Edward Scissorhands” as influences on her cinematic aesthetic.

“Now, people expect them to be so polished and speedily edited. I went, ‘OK, what if we put that aside and tried to make a genuinely Eighties movie?’ Not a modern retelling of the Eighties, but the actual pacing and colour and camera angles of the movies that I loved. And weirdly, no one stopped me.”

What is “Lisa Frankenstein” about?

“After a set of playfully horrific circumstances bring him back to life, the two embark on a murderous journey to find love, happiness… and a few missing body parts along the way.”

Who stars in “Lisa Frankenstein”?

MCU fans might recognise the lead actress Kathryn Newton - she played Cassandra Lang, daughter to Paul Rudd’s character in the most recent “Antman and The Wasp: Quantumania” film, after her breakthrough role in the sex comedy “Blockers” starring Leslie Mann and John Cena.

• Kathryn Newton as Lisa
• Cole Sprouse
• Liza Soberano as Taffy
• Henry Eikenberry
• Joe Chrest
• Carla Gugino

How long is “Lisa Frankenstein”?

“Lisa Frankenstein” has a theatrical run time of 104 minutes or 1 hour 44 minutes in Lehman’s terms.

What is the age rating for “Lisa Frankenstein?”

The British Board of Film Classification have rated “Lisa Frankenstein” a 15 due to “strong violence [and] bloody images.” In their explanation for the rating, they advised: “A lonely teenager comes out of her shell after accidentally reanimating a Victorian corpse in this 1980s-set romantic horror comedy, which combines dark humour and fantasy with occasional gory moments.”

When is “Lisa Frankenstein” released in cinemas?

“Lisa Frankenstein” is released in cinemas in the United Kingdom on March 1 2024.