Frank Henenlotter’s ‘FRANKENHOOKER’ 35 Years Later – Retro Review

There was once a time when bad movies ruled the horror genre. It may be why some of us have an undying love for those golden years. At one time, the horror genre was experimenting, like the wild west. People were making movies, and we ate them all up. Frankenhooker is one of those cherished movies and quickly gained cult status. I watch horror movies to have a good time. Frankenhooker is one of those good-time movies for me.

Let’s dig in.

Synopsis

A medical school dropout Jeffery (James Lorinz) loses his fiancée Elizabeth (Patty Mullen) in a tragic lawnmower incident, and decides to bring her back. Unfortunately, he was only able to save her head, so he goes to the red light district in the city and lures prostitutes into a hotel room so he can get parts for his girlfriend.

There is a reason Troma still exists: it’s partly because of me and my friends. For a director of bad movies, Lloyd Kaufman has a two-hour line to meet fans. Troma changed the entire game. They came into the scene the same way they are now. They are a force to be reckoned with and lasted the horror genre while studios like Brain Damage are kind of unheard now. We can easily see that The Toxic Avenger is the love child, and Frankenhooker is there to sit at the “OG” table.

The Rundown

What makes this movie so great is that it is not to be taken seriously at all. You can put this movie on, and by the middle of the film, you are struck in awe. Even the FX were amazing for the time. The fact that they still use the same FX today and it’s all due to the audience demanding more and more. Frankenhooker is a staple movie to watch if you are new to the genre, because again, no matter what, they tend to like. It’s a good lesson about how much we love this genre. As a kid, I didn’t have much supervision, I basically raised myself. Frankenhooker  is one of the first movies I watched. I wondered why my family would let me watch something so absurd.

If you’re having a bad day, suck this movie in. It gives us a reason to enjoy watching a movie, even if our first thought is “WTF did I just watch? What just happened? Was that real?” I have asked myself that question a lot through my travels in the horror genre. No matter the quality of the acting, Patty Mullen nailed her role. The fact that she was just a head because of a lawn mower accident should tell you it’s worth it.

In The End

Frankenhooker is an acquired taste, if you are into terrible acting and absurd nonsense. These are the movies I live for. They found a place in my heart long ago, and I admit, I am a snob to certain movies because the plot doesn’t interest me, or it seems too real. We spend so much time these days just to produce a movie that has no chance with legit horror fans.

I will always live for horror films. It wasn’t a phase, and I wasn’t wasting time while everyone thought I was weird in school for liking horror movies. It actually put a tag on my back after Columbine, I hid in the safety of a scary movie. So thank you, Lloyd, Patty, Frank, and all the other Troma legends, for always giving me a place to hide and laugh at the torture of a school day. I owe you all a lot.