Frank Henenlotter is a different kind of genre director. He definitely gyrates to his own unique rhythm, instilling a sense of fun-loving absurdity into what would otherwise pass for watered-down psychodramas featuring a bevy of pathetic individuals not unlike myself. The first Henenlotter flick that caught my attention was the cult classic Basket Case, an odd little story about a man and his deformed Siamese twin Belial, a twisted lump of pulsating flesh hellbent on destroying the doctors who separated them long ago. Dumbfounded and thirsty for more, I then moved on to the sequels, which somehow managed to kick the insanity way past eleven, a feat I simply did not think was possible.
The restored uncut version of Brain Damage came next, thanks to Synapse and their willingness to give dusty old cult movies a new life on DVD. Though brilliant in their own little ways, none of these pictures really captured Henenlotter's sleazy side better than 1990's Frankenhooker, one of the greatest horror/comedies of all time. In my humble opinion, of course. It's another film that takes an oh-so familiar concept — in this case, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein — and gives it a crippling kick in the crotch. And though many proclaim Brain Damage to be the man's shining masterpiece, I'd have to say that Frankenhooker is truly my favorite Henenlotter film, one that tells the touching tale of a young man's undying love for his dead fiance. With exploding hookers, of course.
Frankenhooker tells the intimate tale of Jeffrey Franken, a "bio-electric technician" who loses the love of his life at the hands of a sadistic remote-controlled lawnmower of his own design. You can imagine the messy outcome, I'm sure. Though his mother tries her best to bring her old son out of his deep, dark depression, there's really nothing she can do to ease his aching heart. What's a bio-electric engineer to do when his lovely little lady is cut to ribbons? You guessed it: bring her screaming back to life.
Since our hero only has a handful of original pieces to work with, Jeffrey decides to bring his sweetheart back from the dead using the recently-deceased body of a nasty New York hooker. Nifty! After developing a kind of "super crack" that causes the user(s) to basically overheat and explode, Jeffrey sets up a meeting with a virtual brothel of trashy whores in order to choose which one he likes best.
Article comments
1 - Katie McNeill
I have to admit that this would not be the kind of thing I would watch... but your review (fanboy rant) is so persuasive that I might have to pick it up. Thanks :)
2 - T. Rigney
Frankenhooker is worth picking up, that is, if you don't mind 90 minutes of tastelss jokes and senseless violence. It's also a good starter course for those unfamiliar with Henenlotter's work.
If you do pick it up, be sure to get Unearthed's release. Good stuff.
3 - Bill Sherman
I still tend to favor the first Basket Case over Frankenhooker, but it's only by the narrowest of margins. What's Henenlotter been up to lately? Last credit I can track down is as a stock footage consultant for John Waters A Dirty Shame . . .
4 - T. Rigney
For a while, IMDb had a listing for a movie called Sick in the Head, which found Henenlotter working as both writer and director. Unfortunately, it's entry is now missing from the database, so I really have no idea what's next for the guy. I tried contacting him for an interview during my time spent at a certain horror-based website, though most of my inquiries turned up absolutely nothing.
I'd love to know what's up with the guy.