Sometimes you just don’t realize the itch you need scratchin til it dickpunches ya with a dismembered hooker leg. We all know Mary Shelley’s classic take on man vs science, God vs Man, of whatever that theme there was. Told a million times now it seems. Even a comedic take with a young...Fronkensteen. Booooooring. But this Tromatic spin on it from Frank “Basket Case” Henenlotter? Oh, the WHOOOrer...the whooorer...
This is the height of 80s saturated suburbia and urban cheese horror comedy, which means 1990. A young budding scientist. Imminent wedding with his Jersey fiance. But then a birthday party accident goes horribly awry, and young budding scientist becomes young mad scientist. As in crazy. He’s not really angry, just...lovelorn. Plus he invents SuperCrack! Everything here is so wrong, I love it. The only thing missing is a cameo by Danny Trejo or Eric Roberts. Oh well, I will not begrudge it for this missed opportunity, with plenty of hookers and hooker-parts to keep you distracted from that fact.
IS this just an excuse to get a lot of strippers to show their wares? NO! This is a totally appropriate modern reinterpretation of the literary classic, with a healthy dose of Weird Science puberties and Re-Animator goodnesses mixed in. Well told, it’s basically just a by-product that so many topless women are utilized. Plenty of moral ambiguities, it’s pretty up-front with the fact and that’s why I appreciate this one more than, say, Frankenweenie. Plus, hookers are slightly better actors than stop-motion animated dogs. Orrr ARRReeee theeeyyyy???? And as for as cheese as it is, I think temu BratPack James Lorinz handles the insanities of the character as good as he could, given the materials. Not quite Jeffrey Combs good, but good. And former Penthouse Pet Patty Mullen in full Frankenhooker mode is to die for.
