Frankenhooker (1990)

Brilliant and touching

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

This Henenlotter guy is really something special. Basket Case 1 & 2 are nut, Brain Damage is completely insane and Basket Case 2 and Brain Damage contain 2 ultimately craziest sex scenes I have ever seen. But Frankenhooker exceeds all previous achievements. Combination of Jack the Ripper and Dr. Frankenstein with silly twist at the end. It's categorized as horror/comedy, but to me it isn't either funny or scary. But it's full of naked ladies to compensate. In my vocabulary this kind of movie goes under "Wtf I just watched" genre. Objectively, this is complete crap, but I have to recommend it and I will definitely watch it again some time, cause I'm thrilled with its level of greatardation. Its quality deserves 1 or maybe 2, but it's retardaedal for 10, so whatta hell, I'll give it6/10P.S. Just in case it's less obvious than I thought:Retardaedal = retarded + daedalGreatardation = greatness + retardation :D

At the home of Jeffrey Franken (James Lorinz) an accident with a lawnmower leaves his fiancé Elizabeth Shelley (Patty Mullen) in pieces all over the garden. Medical school dropout Jeffrey steals her head and decides to use his knowledge to bring Elizabeth back to life, by acquiring body parts from local prostitutes, killing them using exploding crack cocaine. However, the project backfires on Jeffrey when Elizabeth turns into Frankenhooker! Elizabeth then embarks on a killing spree in New York, uttering phrases such as 'Wanna date?'With a limited budget, most of the special effects are rubbish. It isn't very funny, not erotic, not horrific. Just weird, mainly. The directing isn't that special either. The acting is poor, dialogue lazy and no-one seems to be taking control over the whole thing. Ultimately it's Patty Mullen who gives the most watchable performance here. She's really very good. Just a shame she didn't do another film. And it's because of her I give it 5.

Jeffrey Franken's girlfriend is dismembered in a freak lawnmower accident, so Jeffrey does what every bereaved fiancé would do: he feeds exploding crack to a group of hookers, and transplants his girlfriend's head onto a composite body. Shenanigans ensue.This horror comedy contains a host of awful performances and effects which are rather less than special. If that was it, this film would score minimums in all categories.But it also has a terrific sense of fun, and a very funny performance from Patty Mullen as the unfortunate cobbled-together girl. And the sequence of the exploding hookers (I can't believe I just typed that) is worth the price of admission on its own.

Frankenhooker starts at the New Jersey home of Jeffrey Franken (James Lorinz) where at a birthday party a freak accident with a remote controlled lawnmower leaves his fiancé Elizabeth Shelley (Patty Mullen) in pieces all over the garden. Medical school dropout Jeffrey is devastated & decides to combine his medical & electrical knowledge to bring Elizabeth back to life, with only Elizabeth's head to work with Jeffrey has to find her a new body & decides to travel to times square in New York to pick up prostitutes in order to construct the perfect body for his beloved Elizabeth...Co-written & directed by Frank Henenlotter this horror comedy is quite enjoyable if your in the right mood, a silly mix of horror & sex Frankenhooker is fun if nothing else. The script is obviously a parody of the classic novel Frankenstein with Henenlotter's brand of bad taste humour & quirkiness the main thing going for it, from lawnmower accidents to exploding prostitutes to electrifying sex Frankenhooker is not the type of film for those with delicate moral sensibilities. Like a lot of films like Frankenhooker it's a mixed bag, some of the humour & crudeness works & it's occasionally amusing while at other times the jokes & gags fall a bit flat while horror aspect is also varied with some weak effects spoiling a few scenes. The character's are pretty cartoon like with the re-animated Elizabeth quoting prostitute pick up lines & Jeffrey inserting a drill into the back of his head for inspiration, as you do. Frankenhooker is quite likable & at only just over 80 minutes long the pace is decent & it doesn't outstay it's welcome but there are better horror comedies out there, watchable enough & positively amazing when compared to many modern day low budget horror films but I didn't love it or anything.There's plenty of female nudity & bare breasts on show even if some of the actresses who play the hookers aren't the best looking, to go with the nudity there's some gore as well including a couple of decapitations, some severed limbs, some blood splatter, some fake looking exploding prostitutes, a brain in a fish tank & a mangled mass of body parts that comes to life at the end. The final shock twist ending is sort of spoiled by the poor special effects but at least the makers tried to put as much on screen as they could even if they didn't have either the talent or budget to do their ideas justice. Apparently director Henenlotter improvised the pitch for Frankenhooker to a producer when his original didn't impress the money men, he has a small cameo as one of the passengers on the subway train.With a supposed budget of about $2,500,000 this was filmed in New York & some of the seedy nightlife locations add a certain dubious atmosphere. The acting is alright, no-one seems to be taking things seriously which is just as well although it's the Frankenhooker herself Patty Mullen who gives the most watchable performance here.Frankenhooker is a fun little horror comedy with plenty of sleaze & bad taste humour, it's not amazing or life changing but it is fun for what it is & I liked it well enough.