{2jtab: Movie Review}

The gut-busting and side-splitting laughs found in Frank Henenlotter's Frankenhooker, his 1990 parody of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, are only one part of the film’s many exploitative charms.  There’s an abundance of blood, boobs, and bad acting to boot.  No, Frankenhooker isn’t a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but for those rabid gorehounds out there and cult connoisseurs (like myself), the man who made Brain Damage and the Basket Case trilogy is – in the messy arena of cult classics - a close second to none other than Stanley Kubrick.

Eccentric inventor and medical school drop-out Jeffrey Franken (James Lorinz) just killed his girlfriend.  It was a proper accident, of course, but there she is – poor Elizabeth (Patty Mullen in a fat suit) - raining down upon her father’s birthday guests after being brutally dismembered by Jeffrey’s new invention: a remote-controlled lawnmower.  It was a gift for his future father-in-law, but now it is just a multi-bladed murderer.

The accident sends Jeffrey into a tailspin.  He becomes obsessed with the idea of putting his fiancée back together again.  He drills holes in his head to help come up with the perfect plan for her re-design; it’s a plan that involves a number of crack-starved hookers belonging to a pimp named Zorro (Joseph Gonzalez) and lots of laughs…but he does it.  And, of course - because she is literally sewn together from scores of raunchy New York prostitutes – she has to walk the streets looking for her next fix; her next trick.

Poor Jeffrey.

It’s simply too hard to criticize a film that remains this consistently fun.  Sure, the film might believe it is wittier than it actually is, but that doesn't stop the absolute joy in this unpolished jewel of junky exploitation from shining through.  Lorinz is a hoot of absentminded dementia characterization as he struts about and overacts and delivers some relentlessly funny off-the-cuff comments about drugs, his dead-alive again fiancée, and New York in general.  Mullen is the real star, though.  Her take as Frankenhooker is funny, inventive, and sexy.  The real shocker is that Mullen, as the monster, delivers some genuinely funny moments of banter and mimicry that begs for more attention than she’s ever really garnered.

With Frankenhooker, Henenlotter answers the film’s simple premise with the promise of something poised to be memorable.  He delivers time and time again with a film that includes a Morton Downey, Jr rip and a zombiefied weatherman (John Zacherle).  Yes sir, Frankenhooker is where “Trash TV” meets its match.  Black comedy horror can’t possibly get much better than a pieced-together prostitute mouthing dialogue from all the banks of a bruised memory as she searches for the drugs and the men to keep her fuses lit.

If a little hilarious x-rated zombie action is your idea of a good time on a Friday night, then Frankenhooker is your date.

{2jtab: Film Details}

MPAA Rating: R.
Director: Frank Henenlotter
Writer: Frank Henenlotter, Robert Martin
Cast: James Lorinz; Louise Lasser; Judy Grafe; Joanne Ritchie; Patty Mullen
Genre: Horror | Comedy
Tagline: A Terrifying Tale Of Sluts And Bolts.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Oh my God! BUNIONS! "
Distributor: Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment - USA theatrical
DVD/Blu-ray Distributor: Synapse Films
Official Site:
Theatrical Release Date: June 1, 1990
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: November 8, 2011

Synopsis: The film is about a medical student dropout, who finds his fiancée chopped to pieces by his remote control lawnmower. Instead of mourning her death, his uses his medical knowledge to bring what ever Is left of his fiancée to life. He begins to reassemble her, through body parts of dead New York City hookers. Once brought back to life, his fiancée’s brain is scrambled and escapes his laboratory. Now on the streets of New York with the mind of a hooker, she is running around turning tricks and giving high voltage to her customers.

{2jtab: Blu-ray Review}

Component Grades Movie Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray Experience

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - November 8, 2011
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles:
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)

Presented by Synapse Films, the 1080p transfer defies its 20-year old age and absolutely sparkles on blu-ray.  The rich varieties of colors are boldly on display with vibrancy and tone.  The 1990’s style and filmmaking prowess are also firmly on display in the fabric and flaws of the clothing and the heavy lighting that was, at one time, so very popular in some of the lower budget features.  The details in the slime, sleaze and secretions are ripe with punched up layers of HD gooiness.  The audio – presented in a bold DTS-HD MA 2.0 & 5.1 track – is pretty solid, too.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• Hallelujah!  The hilarious and informative commentary track by Henenlotter and Gabe Bartolos has been ported over from the 2006 DVD edition. Here, you find Henenlotter and Bartolos explaining what makes their work and style of filmmaking so hard and so much fun.

Special Features:

Also ported over from the DVD release are the supplemental materials which feature a couple of remembrances about the shooting of the film from cast members and an in-depth look at the special effects of the film.  While we do lose a trailer or two, there is plenty more to celebrate about the supplementals provided here.

• A Salad That Was Once Named Elizabeth (7 min)
• A Stitch in Time: The Make-Up Effects (10 min)
• Turning Tricks: Jennifer Delora Remembers (8 min)
• Jennifer Delora's ‘Frankenhooker’ scrapbook
• Theatrical Trailer

{2jtab: Trailer}

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