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FRANKENHOOKER
1990
Wanna date? That’s the line everyone remembers from trashtacular
joyride Frankenhooker, and the video box even had a button that would
play that sound clip. Frank Henenlotter, who had made other cult classics
Brain Damage and Basket Case, made this Frankenstein update in 1990.
It’s the story of a mentally unstable young man who tragically
loses his girthful girlfriend, and instead of finding a new one or writing
some emo poetry, he sets out to re-build her, part by part. And on July
22, 2006, we here at TFO have the pleasure of showing a brand-new 35
mm print from Unearthed Films, the guys that are putting out the upcoming
DVD reissue.
As in his other films, Henenlotter manages to make a fairly gory film
that is creative, funny, smart and stupid at the same time. And always
fun! He manages to make the most out of his low budget with camera tricks
and gore and boobs. (Boobs-your cheapest and finest special effect.)
Young electrician Jeffrey Franken dropped out of medical school. But
as his girlfriend Elizabeth Shelley (get it?) puts it, he’s kind
of a doctor in his spare time. She dies in a tragic lawnmower accident,
but Jeffrey saves her head and sets about finding replacement parts
for her from local ladies of the evening. He refines regular crack into
Supercrack, and the hookers explode after smoking it. Shelley’s
not quite the same when she is brought to life; She’s a sort of
composite of all these different women and their last few minutes, saying
things like “Wanna date?” She lurches off in search of customers,
who explode from contact with her electrically charged body!
James Lorinz’ kooky but committed Jeffrey is a pleasure (watch
him examine the body parts and check the nipples for texture), and very
convinced of the necessity of his actions. He gives himself home trepanation
with a power drill when in need of inspiration. (“Stewardesses.”)
Several brilliant scenes: the lawnmower death scene, the hooker explosion,
the ending with all the... oh, no, I can’t tell you the ending.
Make no mistake: this is about as good as horror comedy gets. Nice gore,
the humor works, and it’s lean and mean at 85 minutes. There is
literally no wasted time in this movie, no gratuitous subplots to get
in the way of the story. But nice little touches like the business place
names, satirical TV shows, the subliminal devil’s music (“Anyone
can drive sober”) at the hooker party, and Jeffrey’s mad
laboratory’s nod to the old Universal pictures, all add a lot
of charm to Frankenhooker.
I liked the characters and I wanted to spend more time with them: a
pumped-up pimp named Zorro, Louise Lasser as his sandwich-offering mom,
several penthouse models as the hookers, and a cameo from horror host
Zacherle. As Frankenhooker, Patty Mullen shows decent comedic timing,
but I don’t find her doing anything else after this.
It’s a pity Henenlotter hasn’t made anything since 1992,
but he is reportedly working on a new film, Sick In The Head. Henenlotter
told me by e-mail he preferred being invisible and wasn’t giving
any interviews right now, but he hoped it wouldn’t interfere with
the joyous spectacle of watching 8 hookers violently explode on the
big screen. We here at TFO wish him well, and look forward to his next
project.
-Hysteric Eric
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