Frankenhooker

Zorro is a beefed up super pimp, who goes around kicking ass and taking names. Zorro, and Jefferey's invention of "Supercrack" are the two things that make this movie hilarious. "No,no,no,no the question is who are you, and from what I've been hearing, your ass is mine and I'm taking possesion right now" " My girls are the best, the best to look at, the best for fun. You want the best, you gotta pay." " No no no no, they didn't leave, they didn't go nowhere, they just blew up. F***ing exploded, one minute they my bitches, and the next minute, pieces all over" These are all quotes from the man Zorro.

This movie is a cautionary tale about the dangers of pushing the boundaries of science too far. Hands down, it's the best movie ever made that features exploding crack whores. It also reminds us of the importance of lawn mower safety, and offers some exciting new possibilities for owners of power tools. Throw in its sensitive handling of foreign relations ("What are ya! Some kind of Swede?") and "Frankenhooker" is a classic. It's an amazing cinematic experience that is weird enough to be both deeply disturbing and hilarious at the same time. The people who made this movie are sick, God love 'em.

Frank Henenlotter's Frankenhooker (1990) is a funny horror comedy starring James Lorinz as Jeffrey Franken, a young man who is extremely interested in medical studies and becoming a doctor. He makes his weird experiments in his house while his parents are little concerned as they think their son is little weird, understandably. Soon a horrible but incredibly comical accident happens to his girlfriend Elizabeth so Jeffrey takes all the body parts he can in order to re-build his girl. But he needs various body parts in order to complete his love and he develops a drug which makes its users explode. He goes to the streets searching for prostitutes and you know what he wants from them. He gets the parts, but will the new Elizabeth, Frankenhooker, be the same as she used to be?

This film is a must for lovers of B cinema and films which mix horror, gore and comedy. Franken's character is very mad as he talks alone all the time and inserts a power drill into his head everytime he is about to have some nervous problems under pressure. Usually when characters talk all the time without reasons in films it just shows how bad the script is, but in this case, the talking (especially for himself) is normal for this kind of crazy doctor and thus it doesn't feel irritating and bad choice.

Henenlotter's other films like Brain Damage (1988) and Basket Case (1982) are so fantastic as they mix humor and horror so uniquely. They are creepy and very funny (and clever especially in Brain Damage's case) at the very same film. Frankenhooker isn't an exception and the first lawnmower scene convinces the viewer what will the film be like. There are many severed limbs and body parts, but they don't seem repellent as the tone of the film is so tongue in cheek and not wicked. The scene in which some ten hookers EXPLODE is as funny as possible, but not gory at all, since the film had to get an R rating. It is even funnier now as crimson doesn't fly all the time, they just explode!

The mutants and attached body parts at the end are really creepy and almost nightmarish, and reminded me of Brian Yuzna's Bride of Re-Animator which has similar monsters. The effects work in Frankenhooker is fantastic all the way, and it all is now perfect, and wouldn't work anymore if done with computers or CGI. The pace is fast all the time and the viewer doesn't get bored. The Frankenhooker herself is also pretty outrageous and very deadly a hooker! The lady who plays her part is very talented with all her face expressions and movements. I like Basket Case and Brain Damage even more, but still Frankenhooker is a little classic by this talented and mad film maker genius. I give Frankenhooker at least 8/10 now after the first viewing.

Normally I run away screaming at anything labeled "horror comedy" but 'Frankenhooker' joins 'Motel Hell' as one of the few exceptions. This is an amusing take on Frankenstein with James Lorinz reveling in the role of a mad scientist obsessed with bringing back his girlfriend who died in a freak lawn mowing accident(!). Using the body parts of some local working girls and some "super crack" he ends up with a lot more than he bargained for! Frankenhooker! Played by the lovely Patty Mullen who is sexy and displays plenty of comic timing. Writer/director Frank Henenlotter had previously made the trash classics 'Basket Case' and 'Brain Damage', both of which are brilliant, and 'Frankenhooker' is just as good. Three movies as original and entertaining as those are three more than most film makers ever come up with, so it is a crying shame that Henenlotter has been strangely quiet for the last decade. Hopefully he will resurface one day with something new. In the meantime, watch 'Frankenhooker' for some serious fun. It's an absolute hoot!

If you're a tiny bit familiar with the more light-headed and grotesque 80's horror cheese, the name Frank Hennenlotter won't sound new to you. "Basket Case" and "Brain Damage" are classics that prove creativity and dynamic motivation are actually all that is needed in order to make a fresh-looking horror film. Another triumph of ingeniousness in Hennenlotter's career is this "Frankenhooker". His most comic and personal film to date. It looks like slapstick, yet with a fair amount of gore, but it never at one point becomes entirely ridiculous or dumb. It's actually hysterical and imaginative (unless you're one of the humorless critics like so many on this review-list). A young electrician/brain surgeon (funny combination, isn't it?) loses his girl in a nasty lawnmower accident. Now, that thing alone actually made me chuckle! He wants to resurrect her, but since most of her body got hacked up, he has to collect new "parts". And where better to find those but in the red-light district of New Jersey. Naturally, both the preparations as the operation itself go horribly wrong and the 'hero' has to face absurd consequences. Like few other directors can manage, Frank Hennenlotter inserts his trademarks and typical styles. Frankenhooker is silly, but also very imaginative (exploding whores, anyone?) and it doesn't feature one dull moment. Hennenlotter surely was one of the most talented and self-educated directors in the horror industry. If he would have slightly more movies, I'm sure he would now enjoy a more justified status. I keep on hearing he will return in 2005 with a project called "Sick in the Head". Well I, for one, really hope it's true.