Synapse Films: Frankenhooker (1990) - Reviewed

Images courtesy of Synapse Films

Back in 2011, Synapse Films did a 2K transfer of Frank Henenlotter’s Frankenhooker which Michelle covered beautifully here.  While I myself don’t have a whole lot to add, I did take a stab at the Arrow Video edition of Henenlotter’s Brain Damage which got a beautifully restored rerelease.  Henenlotter’s a special breed of exploitation horror comedy who manages to achieve a level of highbrow lo-fi camp that’s equal parts Russ Meyer, Stephen Sayadian and Andy Sidaris.  Usually working in the unrated territory of camp horror, the Something Weird Video co-founder is the man Lloyd Kaufman tried to be but never quite came as close to.  Whereas the Troma team doesn’t seem to care much about the quality of the filmmaking itself, Henenlotter displayed a keen sense of style and how to economize and get the most out of little means with a particular comic bent that’s infectious and side-splittingly hilarious. 

 
Circa 2026, Synapse Films announced and released a limited deluxe 4K UHD edition remastered from the original 35mm camera negatives and a newly created 5.1 surround sound mix as well as restored original theatrical 2.0 stereo sound.  Now that edition limited to 5,000 copies cost a pretty penny like many of the Synapse deluxe packages but featured a collectible slip box and reversible sleeve art.  Though some copies still appear to be left on their webstore, not everyone is going to want to indulge in the bells-and-whistles super duper release so months later the boutique label decided to unveil a standard 4K UHD edition which jettisons the booklet and packaging but features all the same disc extras ported over from the previous 2011 Blu-ray edition.  Though the lack of new extras may frustrate some fans, the disc transfer of this new UHD edition is so strong it’s absolutely meritorious of an upgrade over the older disc.

 
One of the key factors of Henenlotter’s lasting appeal in addition to his mixture of sex, nudity, blood, gore and makeup effects drifting between shoestring and inspired, is the lighting and look by cinematographer Robert M. Baldwin.  The same cameraman behind Basket Case 2 and McBain, the lighting on a Henenlotter set usually invites a measure of technical control over the proceedings other exploitation filmmakers would ignore.  The score by Joe Renzetti which resembles 80s synth and later lounge jazz lets you know not to take the endeavor seriously even as it veers into increasingly grotesque Brian Yuzna influenced viscera ala Society or Necronomicon.  Henenlotter also manages to get some notable cast members involved including Louise Lasser from Requiem for a Dream, James Lorinz from Last Exit to Brooklyn and legendarily Shirley Stoler from The Honeymoon Killers. 

 
The other star of this tongue-in-cheek romp is makeup effects artist Gabe Bartalos’ grisly work of body parts stored in a fridge which later John Carpenter’s The Thing-themselves together in a hilarious and horrific aside.  The lead actress, former Penthouse magazine ‘Pet of the Year’ Patty Mullen, puts up with a lot of makeup across her arms, neck, back and legs in addition to doing some nudity of dead boobs.  But to her credit she easily gives the most iconic performance of the film as the resurrected titular Frankenhooker and fully commits to every awkward body movement, notions of brain disconnection with her face locking up in a hilarious grimace and stunted one-liner catchphrases shared by the prostitutes of the New Jersey area.  Sure its just silly funning around but it works in this instance.

 
If you already own the previous Blu-ray edition and don’t feel like taking the plunge a second time around, completely understood and a decision I respect.  However, that transfer is over ten years old and doesn’t have anywhere near of the color range or grain levels of this new edition.  If you don’t feel like dropping $60 on the big, bad, boxed set edition, try the forthcoming standard UHD release which comes out on Tuesday next week for $25.  As someone who hadn’t seen or owned this particular Henenlotter previously, this is a terrific introduction to one of the funniest horror comedies of 1990, an urban transgressive crass campy romp which through it all winds up being kind of pitch perfect.  A penultimate beer-and-pizza film that’s unrated still but somehow softer than Basket Case or Brain Damage while being just as funny, Frankenhooker in the right crowd is a perfect October release for horror fans and Halloween parties.  It gets my highest recommendation!

--Andrew Kotwicki