A GRIEVING SCIENTIST BRINGS HIS DEAD GIRLFRIEND BACK TO LIFE
★★★★☆ (Worth the Watch)
Director: Frank Henenlotter
1990
Frankenhooker—the story of a disturbed young scientist who stalks the red light district in order to procure a body for his deceased girlfriend’s head—may be a Frankenstein’s monster of parts from far better films such as Re-Animator and From Beyond, but it manages to delight and surprise and carve out a niche for itself in the body horror catalog. From the moment Jeffrey’s lady love is killed by an automated lawn mower to the interview with the police chief who solemnly declares to a news reporter that her head is missing to the climax where we finally get to see Frankenhooker take on the big city, this film will tickle that part of your funny bone you hide when you’ve just started dating someone and you don’t want them to know you think farts are hilarious. Nothing is out of bounds, so if offensive horror is your cup of tea and you need a good chuckle, this is the B movie for you.
The film begins with our hero, Jeffrey, experimenting on a brain in his girlfriend’s (Elizabeth) parent’s kitchen. Despite a big party going on in the backyard, the introverted man is obsessed with his work, though he does venture out just in time to see his beloved fall prey to his own invention: a radio-controlled mower. Speaking of Re-Animator, the part of Jeffrey feels like it was written for Jeffrey Combs, but James Lorinz does a fine job with it, even if he isn’t quite as charismatic. After Elizabeth’s death, our hero goes back to the home he shares with his mother, and stows the hijacked head in the basement. One problem I have with the film is that Louise Lasser is sorely underused as Jeffrey’s mother; after one early scene, she’s never seen again. It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of Lasser’s, a woman so powerfully theatric she can make you forget the other actors around her, but in Frankenhooker she’s practically sedated, sitting on a bed and mumbling her lines like she doesn’t see her son. Man, what a waste of a legend.
After the budding scientist confesses his dark inner thoughts to his mom and she dismisses them, he’s left to his own grief. Thus begins Jeffrey’s odyssey. He visits the local prostitutes at the seedy motel/club downtown, picking and measuring and choosing which body parts he wants from each one like he’s scoping out cutlets at a deli. Realizing how hard it will be to overpower a lady of the night, this enterprising young man studies their weaknesses, which leads to him inventing Supercrack (TM?) in his laboratory and using it to lure them in like fish to a worm. Without saying too much, this works like a charm and I screamed with laughter for five straight minutes during the explosive scene in the pimp’s motel of choice. Just this moment makes Frankenhooker 100% worth the watch.
Patty Mullen is also a reason to check out this film. After Jeffrey is successful (I’m not ruining anything, just the stills give it away), the living corpse escapes and runs amok in the city streets, killing and looking for johns. As Frankenhooker, Mullen walks as if her butt cheeks are super-glued, and crosses her eyes and contorts her lips as if she were imitating a brain-dead Mick Jagger. It’s a performance to behold, one I won’t forget any time soon.
When it comes to offensive humor, the difference between Frankenhooker and a movie like Slumber Party Massacre is that the former put forth effort and manages to be funny while the latter is a lazy, poorly-written excuse to cash in on nudity. Frankenhooker is B movie nitrous oxide, a wonderful escape from films that make you think too hard. Every scene entertains until you reach the finale you never saw coming. Yes, Frankenhooker is made up of other movies, but it’s a monster anyone’s inner-child will love.
GENRES: Body Horror, Funny, Monster/Creature
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