Blasts from the Past! 4K Ultra HD Review: FRANKENHOOKER (1990)

This “Standard Edition” 4K Ultra HD release is now available from Synapse Films.

I’ll admit that as a teenage horror fan, I didn’t really “get” the films of self-described “exploitation” film writer/director Frank Henenlotter. But over the past few years, a couple of his titles have been given new restorations. Perhaps because I’m older, I can now appreciate the gritty indie spirit and dark humor of these movies more clearly. Basket Case (1982) was the film that put him on the map, and the clever talking-parasite picture Brain Damage (1988) brought him even more attention.

Henenlotter was particularly busy in 1990, as two of his projects were given limited releases. Now, Severin Films is giving one of those titles a major 4K upgrade. That effort is the horror/comedy Frankenhooker. The distributor has taken the original uncut archival 35mm vault materials and given them a new restoration, also presenting the picture in Dolby Vision. This is an intentionally grimy little movie, but the new transfer is impressive with much bolder colors, visuals, and even a hint of depth in certain scenes. It’s safe to say that this is the best the movie has ever looked.

Suburban New Jersey power-plant worker Jeffrey Franken (James Lorinz) lives with his mom (Louise Lasser) and spends his spare time dabbling with bizarre bioelectricity experiments in the garage. It’s not all bad for Jeffrey though, as his pretty and extremely tolerant fiancé Elizabeth Shelley (Patty Mullen) doesn’t seem to mind his odd hobby. During his future father-in-law’s birthday party, Jeffrey delivers a remote-control lawnmower. It seems like the perfect gift, until Elizabeth accidentally misuses it and falls under its blades.

Sadly, there is little left of the young woman to recover except her head. Yet, Jeffrey still does so, plopping it in his freezer, and then focusing on resurrecting her. He heads out to the streets and ends up deciding to rebuild his fiance from the body parts of prostitutes. Naturally, Jeffrey makes up some crazy rationalizations for his action as he begins to create his new version of Elizabeth.

The tone of the picture relies heavily on comedy. And, despite what you might initially think, it’s not overly graphic either. The plot does take the lead to some scuzzy New York locales, where he ingratiates himself with a group of streetwalkers. While the lead initially hesitates to act on his plans, he does eventually turn sinister. Jeffrey ends up creating a “super-crack” drug that causes its users to explode into pieces, conveniently allowing him to pick and choose his favorite bits and pieces from victims. After their pimp, Zorro (Joseph Gonzalez), is knocked unconscious by a flying body part, he vows to find out what happened to his ladies, leading to more comedic moments as the plot progresses. And, when Elizabeth finally returns to life, Jeffrey is surprised to find her wanting to return to her old neighborhood and introduce herself to potential customers.

The effectiveness of the movie is reliant on its tone, and the film is playful and amusing all the way through. It parodies elements of Frankenstein and uses its bizarre scenario to generate a lot of laughs. Lorinz is an entertaining lead, and it’s hysterical to hear a mad scientist rationalize his insane decisions, as well as inspect and judge body parts, all with a thick New Jersey accent. Lasser is excellent as Jeffrey’s mom, who doesn’t really understand any of the disturbing things her son is doing – she merely encourages him to keep up with his pursuits, however illegal and horrifying they may be. And, of course, Mullen is hilarious as Elizabeth/Frankenhooker. After her transformation, she exhibits some funny ticks and funny dialogue as she randomly spouts lines like “Wanna date?”.

There are several memorable moments, including a bit in which several characters ingest the “super-crack” and explode in a variety of creative ways. The film also climaxes with a very funny and appropriate fate for its lead character, (SPOILER ALERT) who finds himself badly wounded and justly given the same treatment that he gave his fiancé.  

Everyone appears to be having a great time onscreen (the extras do reveal that the cast had a blast working on the project), and this helps elevate the mood and fun-factor of the picture. It’s a good time and a lot of fun for anyone looking for a truly different take on the Frankenstein mythos.  

As noted, this was a low-budget feature and was never meant to look gorgeous, but there is impressive photography on display. There is some natural grain present on the screen, but less than you expect, and nothing that distracts the viewer. And some of the material looks remarkably clean and sharp. This is especially true for scenes set in the lab, with the electrical current effects, and major set pieces, with all the make-up looking clean and impressive.

The extras on the disc are equally striking. There is an archival commentary with the director and the make-up designer that offers up a lot of fascinating information about the production. Apparently, Henenlotter was trying to raise funds for a project called Insect City, and was meeting with James Glickenahaus, a film director attempting to start his own production company (which was named Shapiro-Glickenhaus). Henenlotter pitched his concept, which Glickenhaus said he understood, but that no one would ever watch. The studio head then asked, “What else have you got?” and, on the spot, the director spun a tale about a Frankenstein monster built with the parts of prostitutes. Glickenhaus couldn’t stop laughing at the idea, and agreed on the spot. Henenlotter also threw in Basket Case 2 to sweeten the deal, saying he could shoot them back-to-back to save some cash. He got approval, a start date, and only then started writing and prepping for production.

Henenlotter also goes into the shoot itself and how he got the most out of his minimal budget, as well as the rough beginning of the production. The first cinematographer hired was disdainful of the project and his work was poor, so the individual was let go and Henenlotter had to shoot a complicated scene with many characters himself. When the next DP eventually arrived, they got off on the wrong foot too. However, after some discussions behind-the-scenes, the two did end up getting past their differences. In fact, Henenlotter was so pleased that he kept the director of photography on to shoot Basket Case 2.

He talks about making the production as pleasant as he could for the cast, and doing his best so that everyone was enjoying their time on set. He and the make-up effects head Gabe Bartalos talk about how they accomplished a lot of the impressive effects, and the trouble they had with the MPAA. Henenlotter wanted to make sure the picture was lighter and breezier than his earlier works, yet still received an X from the MPAA. A major figure within the organization literally told him that his film was crap (in an even nastier way than is worded here), and notes that they insisted on random cuts just to make his life difficult. During a scene in which several individuals explode into pieces with fireworks and plumes of colored smoke, they were told to cut random bits here, and their reasoning didn’t make any sense to the filmmaker.

The director also admits that while he is pleased with the end result, he never quite figured the ending out and thought he could have invented something stronger. Personally, I think it’s an excellent and very effective finale. In summary, it’s a great commentary and all of the filmmaker’s stories are enjoyable to listen to.

There is also a 2006 interview with Patty Mullen, who played Elizabeth/Frankenhooker. She talks about developing movements for her resurrected character, as well as facial expressions, and was very pleased with how the picture turned out. So much so that she still talks to the director and always pesters him about making a sequel.

There is also a 2006 interview with Gabe Bartalos, who goes into more detail about the make-up effects in the movie, both on the title creation, the elaborate exploding bodies scene, and more. Most will also notice that there are some strange random bits of experimentation that found their way into Basket Case 2.  

Additionally, actress Jennifer DeLora discusses her experiences on the set. She plays one of the prostitutes and states that she generally enjoyed her time on the set (she did find one of the actors a bit too serious for her liking, but it didn’t seem to stop her from enjoying herself). DeLora also discusses other titles from her onscreen career. Much like Mullen, it seems as though the actress would have been more than happy to return for a sequel.

DeLora also provides a photo scrapbook from the production. The performer was in one of the movie’s most notable scenes, and the extra shows behind-the-scenes pictures with her commentary about how it was all put together.

The disc also contains a theatrical trailer.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by Frankenhooker. As a mad scientist tale, it features plenty of chuckles early on, and really ramps up in the second half once the “super-crack” enters the story, and the title character takes to the streets. You could argue that it also deals with a variety of themes in an entertaining manner too. And the movie ends on a memorable note, making for a lively and entertaining B-movie with plenty of wild moments. The picture is excellent, and the bonus features on the disc do a great job of detailing the difficulties in making an independent movie and how all managed to persevere and create something unique. And, if you own a 4K player, why wouldn’t you want to own a title like Frankenhooker on the format? You can officially call me a Henenlotter convert now, and this latest disc from the moviemaker comes highly recommended.