(mini-review)Frankenhooker is one of Frank Henenlotter's crowning achievements. The zany plot leaves plenty of wiggle room for him to do what he does best. That is, toss in as much nudity as possible and stitch together a concatenation of campy, bizarre scenarios that will entertain just about anyone. This is my second favorite Henenlotter flick behind Brain Damage. One of the things I like about it is the art direction. More specifically, I like the color scheme. There are heaps of greens and purples, and when you think about it, those are appropriate blushcasts for an airy sci-fi romp. I only mention it because I've never seen anyone else mention it.
The story follows a mad scientist type whose fiance is shredded to pieces in a freak lawnmower accident. Being the mad scientist that he is, he attempts to revive his dead love by building a new body for her, a body made out of prostitute parts. Slap a severed head onto that bitch, and you've got yourself a Frankenhooker! Obviously, this is a black comedy. Most of the humor works, even during the laggard exposition. The lead character is agreeable and the creation herself is a riot. How can you not smile at a "monster" with purple nipples?
The special effects are crude, but it doesn't really matter. You can't dissect a scene where topless prostitutes explode after smoking "super crack," a drug cooked up by our Dr. Frankenstein, as it were. It's too enjoyable. The photography is notably crisp, so I can't say that this is entirely z-grade material. Sure, there is a character named Zorro the Pimp, but he's a high-class entrepreneur!
"Want a date???"
Agree with ya, second in place after Brain Damage. Then, the Basket Cases. I need to get this DVD as soon as possible! Its a must have.
ReplyDeleteLike you say, the effects are crude. Specially during the last moments of the film, by the way, the ending of this film reminds me a bit of Bride of Re-Animator, which was inspired by the Frankenstein films as well. Bride of Frankenstein to be more precise.
Yeah, it's definitely similar to Bride of Re-Animator, though I think this is the superior b-movie (by a small margin).
ReplyDeleteThe fucking DVDs run so high I have never picked it up despite years of tracking. I have a copy sitting around somewhere but I havent made it past the first half hour. Really need to reproach this one, especially after the review!
ReplyDeleteI have a song in my music library called Frankenhooker. Dabbed it from the manchester morgue. Pretty decent song. No, never heard of this movie.
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