January 05, 2007
|
I wanna be sleazy, too!Frank Henenlotter is a different breed of genre director, for sure. He definitely gyrates to his own unique rhythm, instilling a sense of fun-loving absurdity into what would otherwise pass for watered-down psychodramas featuring a bevy of pathetic individuals not unlike myself. The first Henenlotter flick that caught my attention was the cult classic Basket Case, an odd little story about a man and his deformed Siamese twin Belial, a twisted lump of pulsating flesh hellbent on destroying the doctors who separated them long ago. Dumbfounded and thirsty for more, I then moved on to the sequels, which somehow managed to kick the insanity way past eleven, a feat I simply did not think was possible.
The restored uncut version of Brain Damage came next, thanks to Synapse and their willingness to give dusty old cult movies a new life on DVD. Though brilliant in their own little ways, none of these pictures really captured Henenlotter's sleazy side better than 1990's Frankenhooker, one of the greatest horror/comedies of all time. In my humble opinion, of course. It's another film that takes an oh-so familiar concept — in this case, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein — and gives it a crippling kick in the crotch. And though many proclaim Brain Damage to be the man's shining masterpiece, I'd have to say that Frankenhooker is truly my favorite Henenlotter film, one that tells the touching tale of a young man's undying love for his dead fiance. With exploding hookers, of course.
Frankenhooker tells the intimate tale of Jeffrey Franken, a "bio-electric technician" who loses the love of his life at the hands of a sadistic remote-controlled lawnmower of his own design. You can imagine the messy outcome, I'm sure. Though his mother tries her best to bring her old son out of his deep, dark depression, there's really nothing she can do to ease his aching heart. What's a bio-electric engineer to do when his lovely little lady is cut to ribbons? You guessed it: bring her screaming back to life.
Since our hero only has a handful of original pieces to work with, Jeffrey decides to bring his sweetheart back from the dead using the recently-deceased body of a nasty New York hooker. Nifty! After developing a kind of "super crack" that causes the user(s) to basically overheat and explode, Jeffrey sets up a meeting with a virtual brothel of trashy whores in order to choose which one he likes best.
After taking careful measurements of breasts, legs, and arms, Jeffrey is truly at a loss. He simply cannot decide which snazzy whore he wants to use for his experiment. Before he can come to a clear decision, things get quickly out-of-hand. His super crack is promptly discovered and consumed by these drug-addicted prostitutes, leaving poor Jeffrey knee-deep in smoking severed limbs. After packing up the parts, this sad sack heads home to begin the horrific process of piecing his creation together.
As usual, things go horribly wrong during the resurrection process, which ultimately turns his dead lover into a psychological cocktail of all the hookers he killed in order to stick her back together again. Alive and kicking, this undead call girl sucker punches the mad doctor and escapes onto the streets of New York, leaving the poor sap unconscious on the floor of his suburban garage. Can our hero rescue his patchwork lover before she lands in the lap of a muscle-bound pimp named Zorro, or will he pay the price for his nefarious deeds?
I always get a bit giddy whenever I decide to write about a film I absolutely adore. Truth be told, I don't think I'll ever tire of viewing Frankenhooker. From James Lorinz's deadpan delivery to Patty Mullen's twitchy, rubber-faced portrayal of the titular character, the movie has infinite rewatch value. For my entertainment dollar, it's a near-perfect cinematic experience, one that doesn't mind brutally killing a few trashy working girls to get a laugh or two from its audience.
Every inch of this film is literally coated in deep-fried sleaze, its humor dripping like infection from a pair of soiled Underoos. Though the story is simple and the performances from the supporting case leave much to be desired, the film still has the ability to charm those who don't mind laughing at a loser drilling holes in his skull to help kick-start his creativity. But these sicko gags never feel gratuitous, never feel as though they're included for mere shock value. That's the brilliance of a Henenlotter picture; despite the increasing number of outrageous gags and gore, they never feel out-of-place. Every limb, ever super crack rock is essential to the story he's trying to tell. Genius? Maybe.
Henenlotter's take on New York City life has always intrigued me, giving this lily-white suburban moron a glimpse into a world I'll never fully understand. He has the same ability to capture the seedy underworld of the Big Apple as fellow New York filmmakers Abel Ferrara and Martin Scorsese, though his tactics are a little less conventional. Frankenhooker, more than any of Henenlotter's previous efforts, makes you feel as if you've stepped into another world altogether, one where one-eyed brains and mutant body parts are an everyday occurrence.
The opening scene, which finds Jeffrey working on a bizarre science experiment in his fiancee's kitchen, sets the tone perfectly, giving you the impression that all of the craziness that takes place over the span of 90 minutes is as natural as a severed head crashing through a plate glass window. I strive for this kind of tone in my own work; the feeling that you've turned the corner into an alternate universe filled with twisted abominations and madcap characters. I think it's brilliant.
As I read over what I've written, it turns out this so-called "review" is nothing more than a fanboy rant. That's okay, I think. Some movies need goofy Internet bloggers to champion them, to sing their praises so others may hear THE WORD. With an Unearthed Films special edition on shelves now, Frankenhooker should now reach the people who would appreciate it the most. In my humble opinion, it's easily the brightest jewel in Henenlotter's warped crown, a strangely personal film that still bears the man's trademark weirdness. This is one picture I simply cannot recommend enough. If you have the chance to experience Frankenhooker for yourself, by all means, do so immediately. Not only is it a great horror/comedy, it's also a damn fine movie in general. Embrace the sleaze. Embrace the trashiness. Embrace the goofiness.
But above all else, enjoy the show.
0 Spasms:
Post a Comment