Frankenhooker

Plot synopsis:
Jeffrey, a young man who lives in New Jersey, is heartbroken after his fiancée Elizabeth is killed by a lawnmower during a cookout. He decides that the only way to confront her loss is to use his science skills to bring her back to life. As her body has been cut into pieces, Jeffrey must take new parts from other women and he ultimately chooses to harvest them from the bodies of New York City prostitutes he lures back to his house and kills via exploding crack. He uses the body parts to bring Elizabeth back to life; her mind, however, isn't fully restored. The newly revived creation escapes and begins looking for customers, who end up exploding after encountering her. Jeffrey also has problems in the form of the pimp Zorro, who comes looking for the women Jeffrey hired. He threatens Jeffrey and strikes Elizabeth, which causes her to regain her senses. During all of this the spare hooker parts are reanimated into a many limbed monster, which drags Zorro away - but not before he kills Jeffrey. Wanting her lover back, Elizabeth decides to revive Jeffrey via the same procedure he used on her. Since the process only works on female bodies, Elizabeth had to use the hookers' body parts. Jeffrey has a brief moment of clarity before he realizes he only has female body parts. He then beings to groan in shock as Elizabeth says they will be together forever. The film then cuts to black.

Tags: cult, comedy, grindhouse film, violence

Review:
Writer/director Frank Henenlotter had previously made the trash classics 'Basket Case' and 'Brain Damage', both of which are brilliant, and 'Frankenhooker' is just as good.
Frank Henenlotter's Frankenhooker (1990) is a funny horror comedy starring James Lorinz as Jeffrey Franken, a young man who is extremely interested in medical studies and becoming a doctor.
Soon a horrible but incredibly comical accident happens to his girlfriend Elizabeth so Jeffrey takes all the body parts he can in order to re-build his girl.
He gets the parts, but will the new Elizabeth, Frankenhooker, be the same as she used to be?This film is a must for lovers of B cinema and films which mix horror, gore and comedy.
Henenlotter's other films like Brain Damage (1988) and Basket Case (1982) are so fantastic as they mix humor and horror so uniquely.
I like Basket Case and Brain Damage even more, but still Frankenhooker is a little classic by this talented and mad film maker genius.
"Basket Case" and "Brain Damage" are classics that prove creativity and dynamic motivation are actually all that is needed in order to make a fresh-looking horror film.
This movie features several moments of delicious comic brilliance; such as the out of control lawnmower sequence that sees the central character's girlfriend get tragically murdered, to the rather tactless news report detailing said tragedy, to the exploding whores and all the way down to the weather report which details a storm that is coming, "for all you mad scientists out there"; there's plenty to make you laugh in Frankenhooker.The film takes obvious influence from the classic Frankenstein story, and it should appeal to anyone that is a fan of cheesy 80's gorefests.
Anyway, this accident leads our hero to the brink of madness (to which his mother responds to by asking him if he would like a sandwich), and he decides to make his girlfriend a new body from the parts of various prostitutes that he picks up.
A film like this needs an offbeat star; and it has one in Lorinz.Overall, this terrifying tale of sluts and bolts is sheer comic brilliance, and if you're a fan of weird and wonderful cult films, and even if you're not; you won't want to miss Frankenhooker..
Frank Henenlotter's "Frankenhooker" is an excellent horror/comedy filled with gore and tongue-in-cheek humour.James Lorinz plays Jeffrey Franken,a young guy who is obsessed with medical experimentation.After his fiancee Elizabeth Shelley(Patty Mullen)is killed in an accident by a lawnmower,he makes plans to build a new body for her.In order to get the parts for the body he cruises New York's Times Square luring hookers with his explosive super-crack."Frankenhooker" is truly amusing-there are lawnmower mutilations,drills in the head and exploding hookers.So if you liked this one check out two other gems made by Henenlotter-"Basket Case" and "Brain Damage".My highest recommendation..
It´s a brilliant parody on Stuart Gordon´s "Re-Animator", Bill Murray is a huge fan of it and the fans of flicks like "The Toxic Avenger" will surely love this film: the humor is silly but entertaining, the F/X are pretty cheap and there are a lot of naked chicks running over the screen.
Frankenhooker, a lovable piece of Z grade comedy horror fluff that Australian distributors CBS/FOX video would love to forget.The story of Frankenhooker revolves around Jeffrey Franken, a strange wannabe doctor who like to bore holes into his head with a drill when times get tough.
Within two days there is going to be a thunderstorm and to get the finish product done, he needs some body parts and that's where the prostitutes come into the picture and with some help by a super drug that causes a real explosion, he's able to recreate his fiancée from their limbs.
But during the experiment things don't turn out like he thought when she runs amuck in the streets.Gee, this was twisted entertainment, but hey it's a Frank Henenlotter film.
Enough of my ramble on Henenlotter's greatness back to the film."Frankenhooker" has to be one of the better (and demented) horrors of the 90s, but its trashy and low-brow comedy appeal is probably why its not held in high regards.
This silly, stupid-on-purpose bit of schlock lies somewhere between "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" an episode of "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" and "Bachelor Party." It's a great combination of guts, gore and jiggly naked girls which never ever takes itself seriously and is absolutely hysterical to watch.Amateur doctor Jeffrey Franken watches in horror as his pretty girlfriend is chewed under by a lawnmower run amok at a birthday party.
A few quick stitches and a convenient lightening storm later, we have FRANKENHOOKER!!!Patty Mullen then takes over the screen, delivering a flawless performance as the seriously flawed Elizabeth, staggering through the streets of New York with her purple hair, mismatched limbs, gruesome stitches, facial twitches and her favorite catchphrase: "Wanna date?" The Super Crack poisoned blood of the prostitutes has turned Elizabeth into a lethal, literal crack whore, who kills the men unwise enough to accept her offer of a date.
Well, sort of...With a name like "Frankenhooker" no one in their right mind should sit down to watch this film expecting an Oscar Winning Epic.
Frankenhooker (1990) is yet another classic horror film from Frank Henenlotter, who also directed my fave horror film of all time "Brain Damage".
This movie is about Jeffrey, a young man whos girlfriend Elizabeth dies in a freak accident by a giant sized lawnmower during a family barbecue, she gets chopped into many pieces during this tragic event!!
Writer/director Frank Henenlotter puts the 'ho' into horror with his fourth film Frankenhooker, which sees a group of crack-whores providing the raw materials for medical school dropout Jeffrey Franken (James Lorinz), whose latest science project is to build the perfect body for fiancé Elizabeth (Patty Mullen)—killed in a tragic lawnmower accident—and then bring her back to life.Another completely demented dose of biological horror from the genius who gave us the lovable Belial (in the terrific Basket Case) and chatty parasitic worm Elmer (from the sublime Brain Damage), Frankenhooker once again goes to prove that when it comes to pure, unadulterated, trashy, comedy/horror craziness, nobody does it better than Henenlotter.This one might not have the high levels of gore to be found in either of his aforementioned 80s classics, but it's loads of fun nonetheless, featuring such outrageous delights as exploding prostitutes (no blood; just a bang and flying body parts!), a killer pimp named Zorro, self-trepanning via power drill, a reanimated street-walkin' Elizabeth looking for business (with Mullen giving a memorable performance spouting random snippets of hooker dialogue), and a freezer full of freaky creatures formed from leftover bits of sluts..
Frank Henenlotter make some pretty damn wild horror flick from the early 80s to 90s and all of them bring are so much joy to watch that I hardly know which one is my favorite to pick and the same case happen to Frankenhooker a horror comedy that take the classic Frankenstein story and put it into a blender together with crystal meth and hooker.The movie is wacky and entertaining in it's own right but the only original ideal in this movie is the main character ex-wife/Frankenhooker herself but I also love the fact that the main character"Jeffrey" without a doubt is a nod to actor Jeffery Combs in his best movie Re-Animator and the Danny DeVito looking guy in the middle of the movie got me good so check out definitely check out Frankenhooker if you in a mood for a crazy ride.
If they could use Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein" for "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975), among other bizarre iterations, then I don't see why not have a mad scientist re-animate his girlfriend with the leftover parts of prostitutes who exploded from lethal doses of crack cocaine.
Moreover, after seeing fellow Frankenstein exploitation flick "Flesh for Frankenstein" (1975), it's difficult to be shocked by such a premise as that of "Frankenhooker."The mad scientist here is a young man named Jeffrey Franker who lives with his parents and creates his hooker monster in their garage.
From the director that brought you "Brain Damage" and "Basket Case" comes another classic piece of comedy horror.
Frank Henenlotter is famous for directing the Basket Case movies and Brain Damage, which is a fantastic, uncelebrated horror gem from the 1980's.
Plot: the girlfriend of a medical school dropout is killed in a freak lawnmower accident (oh, so it's a comedy) resulting in him resurrecting her by using the assembled body parts of hookers.
I won't spoil anything, but I found it happily creepy, and perhaps even poetic--which are feelings horror fans pursue in their movies like heroin junkies chasing that first, initial high.But there is not one laugh to be had in Frankenhooker.
Frank Henenlotter's Frankenhooker is an enjoyable comedy horror B film.
It is silly and funny with lots of nudity and a plot that is just plain absurd.Bland James Lorinz is Jeffrey Franken, a highly strung young man interested in medical studies and doing strange experiments with body parts in his house.
In short he is a little bit loopy.When his girlfriend Elizabeth (Patty Mullen) dies in a bizarre lawn- mowing incident Jeffrey hits the streets and the hookers looking for body parts so he can rebuild Elizabeth.
After a crack cocaine incident where all the hookers blow up he has all the body parts he needs with a few more to spare.When he rebuilds Elizabeth, she becomes Frankenhooker with the short term memories of all the prostitutes and she hits the streets with her platforms looking for victims.It is cheap looking with some frankly bad acting yet somehow it works.
Any hints of misogyny during the bulk of the film's build-up can be forgiven thanks to an enjoyably daft climax, during which a female creature made up of various prostitutes body parts and the head of its mad creators wife runs rampant around New York taking vengeance on the various scum- bags encountered earlier in the film and any sleazy perverts who fancy a bit of the stitched-together would-be centrefold model (she is played by Penthouse model Patty Mullen).Medical school drop-out and whiny-voiced genius Jeffrey (James Lorinz) is about to marry the woman he loves, Elizabeth, when she is accidentally killed by a lawnmower he built.
He decides to Frankenstein her with a bunch of hooker parts - which he gets by getting a bunch of prostitutes to smoke the super-crack he's invented, which makes them explode.
Fuse her head to a bunch of random hookers' body parts and re-animate her Frankenstein-style, of course!Insanely fun B-movie that is not only filled with twisted laughs but is both acted and filmed well.
The dialogue is always clever and James Lorinz (Jeffrey) is a good actor and his twisted narration delivered in a thick New Jersey accent carries the movie.
After his girlfriend dies in an unusual accident that leaves her in pieces, aspiring mad scientist and med-school drop out Jeffrey Franken comes up with a plan to bring her back to life by reassembling her with parts from dead New York City prostitutes.
This film is far more comedy than horror and is one of cult director Frank Henenlotter's best.
Why not use the body parts of New York hookers to put back together, and bring back to life, your dead girlfriend?
Frankenhooker is a very funny B movie 80's horror/comedy classic.
A man mourning the loss of his fiancé -- who, by the way, lost her life in a tragic lawnmower accident -- decides to bring her back from the dead using body parts from New York City hookers.
Frankhenhooker is probably the worst of Henenlotter's films, though that doesn't mean it isn't a great little movie.
If you don't mind a few chuckles with your gore, then checking out Frankenhooker could prove to be a perfect way to spend an evening.One more thing -- Henenlotter, if you're reading this, there are plenty of people out in the world who'd love to see another film from you.
How can anyone not like a movie containing exploding guinea pigs and people sucking down Super-Crack and then exploding?Sure, it's cheesy, but hey, it's still an extremely amusing (if stupid) film.
A black comedy parody of Frankenstein (1931) in the Re-Animator (1985) vein from the writer-director Frank Henenlotter, coming after Basket Case (1981) and Brain Damage (1987).
Organizing a party in order to choose the specimens (which he nonchalantly ticks with a permanent marker as they parade by him half-undressed!), the girls overdose on his specially-prepared "Supercrack" narcotic – which causes them to explode and mess the place up (hilariously, when their macho pimp smells a rat and goes up to the hero's room, he is knocked out by the flying head of one of the hookers on opening the door)!Interestingly, this is the first Frankenstein movie I have come across where the probability of diverse complexions within the monster's body is addressed – so that parts of it are pale-white and others are dark-toned, or even black!
From the opening scene of an electrician fiddling around with a brain, it went from terrible to atrocious to stick-your-head-into-rotting-roadkill-to-avoid-seeing-the-video bad.I watched this movie because my room-mate was looking for a fun film and when a guy at the video store highly recommended Frankenhooker my room-mate's mind was made.
Unfortunately this lacks the charm and pathos of Frank Henenlotter's earlier films like BASKET CASE or BRAIN DAMAGE or even the sheer fun of Stuart Gordon's RE-ANIMATOR which deals with the same theme of bringing dead people back to life.James Lorenz plays a nerdy idiot named Jeffery Franken (Get it?
There are hundreds of different low-budget horror movies out there but you can always tell when you're watching something from Henenlotter because he can take the most outrageous things and make them seem rather normal in the bizarre universe that he creates.
It has the same sort of morbid and gory horror-type of comedy and if you like these type of movies you'll end up being entertained by this movie as well, guaranteed.It's perfectly silly fun, that is being very simplistic with its story but at the same time also quite creative with all of its events.
At the home of Jeffrey Franken (James Lorinz) an accident with a lawnmower leaves his fiancé Elizabeth Shelley (Patty Mullen) in pieces all over the garden.
Medical school dropout Jeffrey steals her head and decides to use his knowledge to bring Elizabeth back to life, by acquiring body parts from local prostitutes, killing them using exploding crack cocaine.
"Frankenhooker" is another brilliant piece of horror genius from the demented mind of Frank Henenlotter ("Basket Case" and "Brain Damage").
The film concerns a young man who loses his girlfriend in a horrific (and hilarious) "lawnmower accident" which sends her body parts scattering all over the place at a family picnic.
After his girlfriend is destroyed by a souped-up lawn mower, Jeffrey Franken devises a plan to rebuild her using the parts of dead hookers who have exploded after smoking highly effective crack rocks.
But when something looks like a hooker, is made up of hooker, it wants to keep on hooking.I loved this film and I think it may be Frank Henenlotter's masterpiece (though most would give that to "Basket Case").
Frankenhooker: 8 out of 10: Any movie featuring both super crack and exploding hookers will have to work pretty hard to disappoint me.Throw in the fact that the director is none other than Basket Case auteur Frank Henenlotter (Where has he been the last ten years?) and the lead is Street Trash scene stealer James Lorinz (Only found in small screen bit parts of late) and I was expecting to be blown away like, well, like an exploding hooker.Frankenhooker alas isn't necessarily that good.
The movie is also genuinely funny and the humor never feels forced.If the thought of exploding hookers and super crack fills you with an irrelevant glee then I highly recommend this film.
'Trash' and 'screwball' describe the knockabout humour on display here as Jeffrey (James Lorinz) brings back to life his decapitated fiancée by 'building her a new body of Manhatten street prostitutes'.A lot of the first part of the film relies on Lorinz, who is required to carry scenes by himself.
In his search for body parts, the good doctor mixes up a batch of super-crack that makes anyone, or thing for that matter, that smokes it explode.
Frankenhooker starts at the New Jersey home of Jeffrey Franken (James Lorinz) where at a birthday party a freak accident with a remote controlled lawnmower leaves his fiancé Elizabeth Shelley (Patty Mullen) in pieces all over the garden.
The script is obviously a parody of the classic novel Frankenstein with Henenlotter's brand of bad taste humour & quirkiness the main thing going for it, from lawnmower accidents to exploding prostitutes to electrifying sex Frankenhooker is not the type of film for those with delicate moral sensibilities.
Frankenhooker is quite likable & at only just over 80 minutes long the pace is decent & it doesn't outstay it's welcome but there are better horror comedies out there, watchable enough & positively amazing when compared to many modern day low budget horror films but I didn't love it or anything.There's plenty of female nudity & bare breasts on show even if some of the actresses who play the hookers aren't the best looking, to go with the nudity there's some gore as well including a couple of decapitations, some severed limbs, some blood splatter, some fake looking exploding prostitutes, a brain in a fish tank & a mangled mass of body parts that comes to life at the end.
The acting is alright, no-one seems to be taking things seriously which is just as well although it's the Frankenhooker herself Patty Mullen who gives the most watchable performance here.Frankenhooker is a fun little horror comedy with plenty of sleaze & bad taste humour, it's not amazing or life changing but it is fun for what it is & I liked it well enough..