"Frankenhooker" Blu-Ray Review - Written by Anthony T

Frankenhooker
Year: 1990
Director: Frank Henenloter
Stars: James Lorinz, Patty Mullen, Charlotte J. Helmkamp
Studio: Synapse Films
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 85 Mins

Film Synopsis:

"Frankenhooker" is a low budget horror film from director Frank Henenloter. Henenloter is known for his cult classics "Basket Case" and "Brain Damage". His film 'Frankenhooker" was released in 1990 to not much fanfare, but over the years the film has gained a cult following.

The film is about a medical student dropout, who finds his fiancée chopped to pieces by his remote control lawnmower. Instead of mourning her death, his uses his medical knowledge to bring what ever Is left of his fiancée to life. He begins to reassemble her, through body parts of dead New York City hookers. Once brought back to life, his fiancée’s brain is scrambled and escapes his laboratory. Now on the streets of New York with the mind of a hooker, she is running around turning tricks and giving high voltage to her customers.

Film Review:

"Frankenhooker" is one bizarre film that manages to be funny and demented at the same time. Director Frank Henenlotter does a very good job making the material very funny and entertaining through his direction. One of the things that he does so well, he makes the bizarre elements work with the film's context. I liked, the way that he handles death sequences. There are many death scenes that are far out crazy and original that would you explode. Another thing that makes his direction work, the way that he handles the movements of the title character. I liked how he spends time getting the movements of the character down. It works effectively to the point that it generates laughs. That's what you what to see, in a demented film like this. The film also has some very good effects, especially in the last third of the film. It gives the film the lift that it needs for it be a very effective horror/comedy.

The screenplay written by Henenlotter and Robert Martin is so far out for a film that is inspired from "Frankenstein". One of things that this screenplay does very well, it balances the weird and funny elements. I liked, how they were able to do that with the story. By balancing them out, it doesn't let the weird elements goes overboard until the moment that is needed in the story. The other thing that I liked about this screenplay, the death scenes were creative. Death scenes is what makes good horror films. This film is very good, due to the part that the death scenes were thought out. From characters bodies exploding to the final death scene, there is a sense of creativity that the writers come up with.

Blu-Ray Extras:

First on the Blu-Ray is the audio commentary track with director/co-writer Frank Henenlotter and make-up effects designer Greg Bartalos. This is a very good commentary track that makes up for the lack of a retrospective featurette. This track is filled with information, through the filmmaking process of this film. This provides a lot of very good facts from the production to some of the various stories that happened during the filmmaking process. Overall, a very good commentary track that is a must listen for fans of the film.

Next of the disc is "A Salad Once Named Elizabeth“. This nine minute featurette focuses on the film's star Patty Mullen, who plays the title character in the film. It's a basic Q&A interview that goes into her experiences when making the film.

The next featurette on the disc is "A Stitch in Time: The Make-Up Effects of Frankenhooker". This featurette is hosted by Gabe Bartalos. He goes into details how the film's make-up effects are created. Along the way, its inserted with behind the scenes footage and stills that were shot during the making of the film. The only problem that I had with this featurette was the fact that he shoots all his segments regarding himself in four different place. One place is good enough, so its not distracting. Besides that, this is an interesting look at the make-up process.

After that featurette is "Turning Tricks: Jennifer Delora Remembers Frankenhooker“. The nineteen minute featurette goes Jennifer Delora's experiences into her small roll in the film. It goes into the behind the scenes of the film and provides more stories about the filmmaking.

The final featurette is Jennifer Delora's Frankenhooker Photo Scrapbook. The featurette is basically shows old polaroids from Delora's personal collection that were taken during her time on the film. The featurette also has Delora talking about each of the photos. It provides more stories from the behind of the scenes, which makes this better that your average stills extra.

Finally, the disc wraps up with the film's official trailer

Final Summary:

If you’re a fan of exploitation cinema or director Frank Henenloter, you will enjoy this film. “Frankenhooker” is very funny and weird film that’s very entertaining from end to end.

Review Rating: Four Stars

DVD Extras: Three and a Half Stars