Filmmaker and cult cinema hero Frank Henenlotter first caught the underground’s attention in 1982 with his now classic tale of bizarro brotherly love, Basket Case. Eight years later he delivered his opus – a perverted twist on the Frankenstein legend, but with exploding hookers and super crack: Frankenhooker. This is the Bloglin, so I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir when I say that Frankenhooker is b-movie gold. Everything about Frankenhooker is just right from the non-acting of Penthouse centerfold Patty Mullen to the overacting of James Lorinz, the film delivers on every schlocky promise trash cinema makes. And now it’s available in a crispy Blu-ray edition thanks to the fine folks at Synapse Films.

James Lorinz (Street Trash) plays Jeffrey Franken, a genius electrician/biologist from Jersey whose fiance Elizabeth (Mullen) is tragically killed in a freak lawnmower accident. Fueled by obsession and without the will to move on, Jeffrey tries to use science to bring his dear Elizabeth back to life. it’s going to take a lot of electricity and a roomful of hookers to get the job done! Finally, a movie we can all relate to!

Henenlotter was working with a $5 million dollar budget (something I learned from the commentary); chump change in Hollywood but it goes miles in an exploitation film. Every dollar is well spent. The practical effects of Gabe Bartalos are as shocking as they are hilarious – we know it’s a plaster mold of a hooker being blown up, but it’s still entertaining as hell. The special effects and production design are super vibrant, so this 2K hi-def transfer from Synapse seriously pops!

The picture is surprisingly clean for a cult film made 20 years ago. The colors (especially the frequently seen vibrant purples) are really vivid. Henenlotter heavily used stylized lighting on Frankenhooker and the folks at Synapse polished them up better than I think anyone could have imagined. The 5.1 track is pretty damn impressive and brings out Joe Renzetti’s score better than you could have asked for.

Synapse has carried over most of the extras from the OOP DVD from Unearthed Films, minus some production photos and a trailer. The commentary track by Henenlotter and special effects genius Gabe Bartalos is here, which offers some humorous insight on the making of the film. The two make it seem like the most fun shoot ever. Bartalos has his own feature: a behind-the-scenes look at Frankenhooker filled with home-videos and photos of the production. I want to hang out with Bartalos so bad. The dude has done so many amazing effects for films like Gremlins 2 and Darkman.

There’s an interview with Frankhooker herself, Patty Mullen, who looks back on the shoot fondly. The best  retrospective though is given by one of the hookers, Jennifer DeLora. She delivers a spunky and honest look back at her career playing hookers and how honored she was to play one for Henenlotter. She explains how James Lorinz was an annoying diva and how inexperienced actors are the most fun to work with.

The Frankenhooker Blu-ray is worth every penny and is a must-have for any collector of sleazy cinema and it’s available today from Synapse Films.

- Oh Mars