Levins-Henenlotter, 1990

starring: James Lorinz, Patty Mullen, Joseph Gonzalez and Louise Lasser

directed by: Frank Henenlotter

the plot: Medical school dropout turned electrician Jeffrey Franken (Lorinz) is obsessed with creating life by stitching together various and sundry body parts. Everyone thinks his extracurricular activities are pretty weird, except for his fiancée Elizabeth (Mullen), who adores her demented genius boyfriend. That is, until one of Jeffrey’s side projects—a remote controlled lawnmower—goes rogue and turns Elizabeth into a pile of human coleslaw. Jeffrey salvages what parts of Elizabeth he can (a toe, an arm, her head) and preserves them in the hopes of resurrecting his love. Jeffrey’s mom (Lasser) wants him to stop grieving and go out with the checkout girl at the local supermarket, but Jeffrey has another idea. With the right parts, and a healthy dose of electricity, he can rebuild Elizabeth. An upcoming thunderstorm can supply the juice, but for parts, Jeffrey must head into New York City. There, he hires a gaggle of hookers and, plying them with his specially made “super crack,” picks the best parts from each one. But the “super crack” has an unexpected side effect and causes all the ladies to explode. This upsets their muscle-bound pimp Zorro (Gonzalez), but gives Jeffrey all the spare parts he needs for his demented science project.

why it’s good: In 1990, two films about prostitution were released. One featured a hooker with a heart of gold who falls in love with a charming client. The other featured a hooker built from spare body parts who causes her clients to explode in a shower of gore and electricity. In some parallel universe, that first film, “Pretty Woman,” languishes in obscurity while the second film, “Frankenhooker,” is heralded as a triumphant horrific romantic comedy that launched the acting career of Patty Mullen. Alas, we live in a decidedly non-parallel universe, and so the awesomeness that is “Frankenhooker” remains largely unknown. It’s nothing short of a travesty, really, as Frank Henenlotter’s splatterific comedy is a nonstop good time. How could it not be? Along with all the exploding people, Henenlotter works in a cast of freaks and weirdos, from the brilliantly awkward Jeffrey (who tries desperately to apologize after accidentally blowing up a half-dozen hookers) to a ’roided-up pimp who brands his girls with a “Z” on their arm. Most freakish of all is the resurrected Elizabeth, and Mullen (a former Penthouse Pet who never starred in a film after this) deserves some sort of prize for putting up with the various abuses she suffers in the film (she’s saddled with an awful fat suit at the beginning of the film, and, later, her head gets knocked off and lightning bolts shoot out the neck stump). And, of course, there are exploding guinea pigs, outrageous mutants and a dozen other reasons why “Frankenhooker” should have bested “Pretty Woman.”

why you should own it: Unearthed Films released a remastered, uncut edition of “Frankenhooker” in 2006, and it’s full of all the gratuitous nudity and gore that you’d expect. Don’t just take “Frankenhooker” home for the night—make it part of your library forever.