After taking careful measurements of breasts, legs, and arms, Jeffrey is truly at a loss. He simply cannot decide which snazzy whore he wants to use for his experiment. Before he can come to a clear decision, things get quickly out-of-hand. His super crack is promptly discovered and consumed by these drug-addicted prostitutes, leaving poor Jeffrey knee-deep in smoking severed limbs. After packing up the parts, this sad sack heads home to begin the horrific process of piecing his creation together.
As usual, things go horribly wrong during the resurrection process, which ultimately turns his dead lover into a psychological cocktail of all the hookers he killed in order to stick her back together again. Alive and kicking, this undead call girl sucker punches the mad doctor and escapes onto the streets of New York, leaving the poor sap unconscious on the floor of his suburban garage. Can our hero rescue his patchwork lover before she lands in the lap of a muscle-bound pimp named Zorro, or will he pay the price for his nefarious deeds?
I always get a bit giddy whenever I decide to write about a film I absolutely adore. Truth be told, I don't think I'll ever tire of viewing Frankenhooker. From James Lorinz's deadpan delivery to Patty Mullen's twitchy, rubber-faced portrayal of the titular character, the movie has infinite rewatch value. For my entertainment dollar, it's a near-perfect cinematic experience, one that doesn't mind brutally killing a few trashy working girls to get a laugh or two from its audience.
Every inch of this film is literally coated in deep-fried sleaze, its humor dripping like infection from a pair of soiled Underoos. Though the story is simple and the performances from the supporting case leave much to be desired, the film still has the ability to charm those who don't mind laughing at a loser drilling holes in his skull to help kick-start his creativity. But these sicko gags never feel gratuitous, never feel as though they're included for mere shock value. That's the brilliance of a Henenlotter picture; despite the increasing number of outrageous gags and gore, they never feel out-of-place. Every limb, ever super crack rock is essential to the story he's trying to tell. Genius? Maybe.
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.