PHOTO BY MICHELE K. SHORT / FOCUS FEATURES

Befitting its late-’80s setting, the protagonist of “Lisa Frankenstein” doesn’t revive dead flesh with a mad-scientist setup of switchers and beakers hidden in a gothic castle.

She uses a malfunctioning tanning bed secreted away in a detached garage.

Lisa (Kathryn Newton, delightfully awkward) isn’t exactly a woman of science, either; she’s a traumatized teen who whiles away her hours in an overgrown graveyard, pining after the centuries-old heartthrob (Cole Sprouse, doing world-class wordless acting) buried beneath a fetching bust of himself. When lightning strikes the grave in question and the deceased hunk returns to life, he shows up at Lisa’s doorstep; she’s mostly amused by the whole thing, even though his unspoken love is true.

Lisa’s got bigger problems. Her mother was killed in a tabloid-tempting home invasion a year ago, and her father (Joe Chrest) quickly remarried, bringing Lisa into the “Precious Moments”-festooned home of Janet (Carla Gugino). A new stepsister (Liza Soberano) is supportive, if not exactly understanding, but Janet thinks Lisa has serious issues — and wants to see her institutionalized.

That doesn’t sit well with the ambulatory corpse in the closet, setting into motion a macabre and madcap comedy informed less by John Hughes and more by John Waters.

“Lisa Frankenstein” is the feature debut for director Zelda Williams, but it fits neatly into the oeuvre of its writer/producer, Diablo Cody. An Oscar winner for “Juno,” Cody previously went dark with the initially maligned then later reconsidered “Jennifer’s Body,” and it’s easy to imagine “Lisa Frankenstein” gaining a gradual audience as well. While it’s very funny, its somewhat odd tone — it recalls “Heathers” and not much else — may deter older audiences looking for it to neatly slot into one subgenre or another.

That’s to its credit; “Lisa Frankenstein” is a unique and unusual film. The fact that it’s often hilarious is a bonus.

My Rating: 8/10

“Lisa Frankenstein” is now playing in theaters.