Frankenhooker (1990)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1990
Running Times: 85 mins
Format: colour
Ratio:
Sound: Dolby

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Shapiro Glickenhaus Entertainment / Ievins-Henenlotter
Executive in Charge of Production: Frank K. Isaac
Executive Producer: James Glickenhaus
Producer: Edgar Ievins
Production Manager: Declan Baldwin

SCRIPT
Script: Robert Martin, Frank Henenlotter

DIRECTION
Director: Frank Henenlotter

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Robert M. Baldwin
Gaffer: William MacGhee
Electrician: Linda Phillips
Stills: Eric Mache

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editors: Kevin Tent
Negative Matcher: Stan Sztaba

MUSIC
Music: Joe Renzetti

SOUND
Foley Artist: Nancy Cabrera

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Make Up Artist: Dan Frye

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Special Make Up Effects: Gabe Bartalos
Special Make Up Effects 1st Assistant: Gino Crognale
Special Make up Effects Assistants: Arnold Gargiulo Jr, Barbara Anne Bock, Bill Messina, Nick Santeramo, Paul Sciacca, Robert Audin

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Pyrotechnics Supervisor: Matt Vogel

VISUAL EFFECTS
Special Visual Effects: Al Magliochetti
Optical Layout: Shelly Morrow

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Props: Wendy Jo Cohen

MISCELLANEOUS
Production Assistants: John DeSimone, Guy Helson, Rob Koch
Driver: Bobby Marsh

LOCATIONS
Locations: New Jersey, USA; New York City, New York, USA

CASTING
Casting: Caroline Sinclair

CAST
James Lorinz (Jeffrey Franken)
Joanne Ritchie (Mrs Shelley)
Patty Mullen (Elizabeth Shelley)
J.J. Clark (Mr Shelley)
Carissa Channing (Dolores)
Shirl Bernheim (Elizabeth's grandmother)
Judy Grafe (newscaster)
Helmar Cooper (Detective Anderson)
Louise Lasser (Jeffrey's mother)
John Zacherle (weatherman)
Charlotte Helmkamp (Honey)
Kimberly Taylor (Amber)
Shirley Stoler (Spike the bartender)
Joseph Gonzalez (Zorro)
Ari Roussimoff (Zorro's customer)
Tom Hair (Motormouth)
Beverly Bonner (Casey)
Jennifer Delora (Angel)
Lia Chang (Crystal)
Stephanie Ryan (real name: Susan Napoli) (Anise)
Heather Hunter (chartreuse)
Gittan Goding (Snow)
Vicki Darnell (Sugar)
Sandy Colosimo (Monkey)
Max Brandt (desk clerk)
James Smythe (Times Square businessman)
Gregory Gilbert (Times Square victim #2)
David Lipman (Frankenhooker's trick)
Eivind Harum (Batman shirt)
Thomas Crognale (stud in Hotel)
Kathi Gati (corner hooker #1)
Sonya Hensley (corner hooker #2)
Dominic Marcus (pimp)
Paul-Felix Montez (Goldie)
Alan Pratt (transvestite)
Jan Saint (street preacher)
Carrotte, Richard Casey, Eren Ozker (puppeteers)
Frank Henenlotter (passenger (uncredited))

PLOT SUMMARY

When his fiancée is killed in a freak lawn mower accident, heartbroken med school dropout Jeffrey Franken decides to piece her back together and restore her to life. But he wasn't able to restore her head so grafts on the head of a prostitute he murders in a sleazy hotel room...

AVAILABILITY

Canada
Theatrical Distributors: Cineplex-Odeon Films

Germany
DVD Distributors: Dragon Film Entertainment (DFE DVD 06)

UK
Video Distributors: Polygram (MED 12662)

USA
Video Distributors: Shapiro-Glickenhaus Home Video; Southgate Video
Laserdisc Distributors: Image Entertainment Inc
DVD Distributors: Simitar Video (7395)

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Australia
Rating: M; MA (re-rating)

Canada
Rating: 16+ (Quebec); R (Ontario)

UK
Rating: 18

USA
Rating: R

TIMELINE

1990
June
1: USA - theatrical release

September
12: Canada - shown at the Toronto Film Festival

1991
June
26: Germany - video release

August
21: France - theatrical release

1998
November
10: USA - DVD release (Simitar Video (7395))

1999
April
Day Unknown: UK - television broadcast (on Bravo)

POSTER TAGS

A Terrifying Tale Of Sluts And Bolts.

It's A Stitch!

Wanna Date?

Some assembly required

LINKS

SEE ALSO
Basket Case (1982)
Basket Case 2 (1990)
Brain Damage (1988)
The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

REFERENCES

MAGAZINES

Cinefantastique vol.20 no.4 (March 1990) p.11 (USA)
illustrated article (Coming: Frankenhooker: Prostituting a classic by Alan Jones)

Cinefantastique vol.20 no.5 (May 1990) pp.36-37 (USA)
article (Henenlotter horrors! by Kyle Counts)

Cinefantastique vol.21 no.3 (December 1990) p.53 (USA)
review (by Judith P. Harris)

City Limits no.463 (16 August 1990) p.22 (UK)
illustrated review (Suture Self by Farrah Anwar)

Empire no.182 (August 2004) p.162 (UK)
illustrated DVD review (by JB)

The Hollywood Reporter vol.313 no.43 (16 August 1990) pp.5, 16 (USA)
credits, review (by Jeff Menell)

Screen International no.681 (3 December 1988) p.2 (UK)
note (News: Palace acquires nine new titles)

Shivers no.81 (September 2000) pp.24-27 (UK)
illustrated article Frankenhooker: When sex can cost you an arm and a leg... by Jonathan Rigby

Sight and Sound vol.2 no.2 (June 1992) p.61 (UK)
video note (by William Green)

Starburst no.135 (November 1989) p.20 (UK)
interview with Edgar Ievins

Time Out no.1043 (15 August 1990) p.31 (UK)
illustrated review (Frankenhooker / Basket Case 2 by Nigel Floyd and Mark Kermode)

Variety 2 May 1990 p.286 (USA)
credits, review (by Ley)

KEYWORDS

artificially created humans, brains, crack cocaine, disembodied heads, drills, drugs, lawn mowers, pimps, prostitutes, street preachers, tattoos, transvestites

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008