Frankenhooker
There is probably no other filmmaking career as strange and weird just as it was brief like Frank Henenlotterâs. Over a career that only lasted a few years and a handful of films (before he dived into making documentaries about exploitation cinema), nobody has ever likely made more of an impression with such a limited output of movies. Starting off with the sleazy grindhouse classic Basket Case, a film that rocked the Times Square audiences in many ways because nobody had ever before seen anything like it AND much of the film was literally shot in Times Square itself, Henenlotter would turn that franchise into a trilogy of madness along with his other efforts which included Brain Damage (about a man possessed by a parasite which compels him to kill people in exchange for releasing a euphoric and addictive drug into his brain) and this 1990 release, which is not only arguably his best and most polished film, but even in an era where being politically incorrect so to speak was part and parcel of the creative mindset of the time, this film went so far over the lines of bad taste in terms of being a âhorror comedyâ that the head of The MPAA actually called the producers after their screening to inform them that their film would be the first one ever to be rated S for Shit. Obviously it received the dreaded X rating which was refused as the film was released unrated anyway, but Henenlotter had once again tapped into a subconscious realm where the things we see onscreen are what we hoped would NOT happen due to what would be just the sheer overwhelming shock value from the effect it could have on us (just look at the infamous ending to Basket Case to understand what that means, specifically). The film also features the most interesting lead character that Henenlotter has ever had in one of his movies, a nerdy, schmucky, but somewhat likable amateur mad scientist played by James Lorinz (who was working as a theater usher when he was discovered and cast in the lead role here). The guyâs backstory is quite interesting, having been thrown out of three different medical schools and is now working as an electrician for the power company. But he still has enough fleeting medical knowledge to engage in amateur operations for those who canât afford them and his biomechanical experience leads him to conduct experiments such as constructing a floating brain with a single eyeball stuck in the middle of it which he tries to motivate to follow his hand around in front of it and other neat tricks. As one can guess from the title, this is a spoof of Mary Shelleyâs Frankenstein (specifically the James Whale versions of both the original and his 1935 sequel Bride Of Frankenstein) with the kicker being that the movie starts out with a family picnic where his soon to be bride (Patty Mullen, a former Penthouse Pet best known for being a ringside judge in the classic Ric Flair vs Sting televised 45 minute draw that had aired on cable TV in 1988 and here wearing padding under her clothing to downplay her beautiful figure and make her look chubby) makes the mistake of starting up a super powered lawnmower invented by her fiancĂ©e and then stepping in front of it, winding up chopped to bits and leaving Lorinz a recluse living at home with his oblivious mother (Louise Lasser, a.k.a. Mary Hartman Mary Hartman a.k.a. the biggest star in the movie). But he has a trump card up his sleeve as while his lady loveâs body was all but completely destroyed, he still has possession of her severed head which he keeps in a tank full of an âestrogen based blood serumâ of his own design to keep her fresh, often holding candlelit dinners while wearing a suit and tie and sitting across from her head excitedly talking about his (their?) plans for the future. Turns out that after much fussing and poring over his own notes and designs (with his motivation being stimulated by drilling holes into his head at key entry points in order to encourage his ability to think calmly and clearly), he has managed to find a way to have a workable solution by which he can bring his beloved girlfriend back to life by means of electricity and hydraulics. The only problem is that since her original body has basically been liquified, he must now find female body parts in order to put her back together, but because he lives in beautiful suburban New Jersey, it only takes a trip over the bridge into glitzy and grimy New York City where there are hookers aplenty, everywhere in fact and in the filmâs most impressive setpiece, we witness Lorinzâs wormy misfit (who rarely if ever leaves his house) enter the seedy underworld of the sex and drugs trade in Manhattan, a place where the hookers will practically tear your car door off at the hinges if they see that you have money in order to have at you and donât even get them started on the drugs. Lorinz sets up a paid session with several of the hookers and in order to make them just dead enough to have their body parts removed for the operation, he invents a form of âsupercrackâ that if smoked, will literally cause the users to explode. Perhaps the filmâs best moment is when Lorinz (after spending much time with the hookers and checking their measurements) has second thoughts about actually hurting or killing them and even apologizes for wasting their time. Until they find the stash of the highly dangerous supercrack that is, causing them to go into a frenzy, pinning the nerd down so that he canât stop them from whipping out their crackpipes (they all have their own) and smoking away despite his frenzied warnings about how dangerous it is. This leads to a bevy of hookers exploding like itâs the 4th Of July and now Lorinz has all the body parts he needs in order to build a new body for his dead girlfriend. And when she (Frankenhooker) comes back to life, so does Patty Mullen finally come back into the film after being killed in the opening scene and this is where the movie really kicks into high gear. Mullen (who never acted again and sadly retired shortly thereafter) brings some real juice (pun intended) in playing the role of the creation, Frankenhooker. Still beautiful and sexy despite the disfiguring scars of the stitched together limbs on her now slim and statuesque body, she seems to be a bit brain damaged at first, spouting mindless hooker clichĂ©s like âWanna date?â along with âNeed some company?â and âGot any money?â along with other specific bits of dialogue from the now exploded and dead other hookers. Her look is rather appealing, sporting purple hair, purple nipples, ghost white face and sad eyes so after she knocks out her putz creator, she proceeds to go on her own rampage in Times Square with Mullen being right on point with her contorted physical mannerisms (at least partially inspired by Karloff himself) and her seeming indifference at the number of scumbags who proposition her and get met with their own exploding deaths as well. Mullenâs onscreen knack for offbeat comedy is so astute that itâs a shame that she cut her own career short for a different kind of life (although her fame will always live on as being the face of THIS particular movie since she is prominently featured on every poster, VHS, DVD and Blu Ray cover that this film has ever had) but here playing a confused monster with real sex appeal so well at least takes some of the acting burden from carrying the film off of Lorinz (himself a guy who has had a limited acting career) who appears to have (obviously) written and / or adlibbed much of his own nebbishy dialogue here even as he manages to get off some real zingers (when he sees two of the hookers in a cracked out craze start making out with each other, he points a finger at them and yells âStop that! Thatâs not natural!â) and gives a funny enough performance that perhaps he too deserved to go places with his acting career that he didnât quite achieve. The real âcontroversyâ at hand here so to speak is in the filmâs comedically cavalier attitude towards the crack epidemic (a real legitimate social problem back then which everyone talked about) and in the expendable nature of women caught up in the lure of human trafficking (still a very big problem today) which are handled in such a wacked out way as to be almost surreal although obviously this movie would never be made (nor distributed) today. Still, with an even more wacked out âhappy endingâ and the strong performances from its two leads, Henenlotter here came up with a cult classic that still deserves to be seen to this dayâŠ
8/10