Synapse Films has released a marvelous 4K edition of Frank Henenlotter’s delightful cult-horror favorite Frankenhooker (1990). A fan favorite for good reason, Frankenhooker is fantastically funny and horrifying, with still incredible practical effects. Featuring a sparkling new 4K transfer, this highly recommended release is available from MVD, or the limited slipcover edition can be ordered directly from Synapse.
Let me get this out of the way. Patty Mullin should have become a major star. A former Penthouse Pet of the Year, Mullin is an absolute force in Frankenhooker, delivering one of the most charismatic and distinctive performances of the early nineties. One of her only screen appearances, Frankenhooker wouldn’t be half as great without the terrific Mullin as the title character.
Exploitation film legend Henenlotter was on a roll in the period leading up to Frankenhooker. He’d delivered three certified bangers in Basket Case, Brain Damage and Basket Case 2. Frankenhooker marks the peak of Henenlotter’s career. It remains, to my eyes at least, still his finest film.
Henenlotter’s script, co-written with Robert Martin, is a wonderfully unhinged take on Mary Shelley’s classic tale. Focused on a young scientist who brings his recently deceased wife back using parts of several sex workers, Frankenhooker is campy, funny, and sexy. Packed with buckets of blood and oodles of flesh, Frankenhooker is so very much fun and is a real nostalgic flashback to the pre-CGI era of nineties horror.
Directed with real gusto by Henenlotter, Frankenhooker is a quickly-paced and perfectly-pitched comedy/horror film that is about as good as it can get. Featuring a propulsive cutting style by award-winning editor Kevin Tent and an amusing Joe Renzetti score, this 1990 production is honestly one of the best black comedies of the early nineties. Not to mention, one of the best special-effects-driven horror films.
Led by makeup artist Gabriel Bartalos, Frankenhooker’s effects are absolutely out of this world. Deliciously gross and at times shocking, the effects found throughout this film are splendid, giving the film a real visceral punch that later CGI works lacked. Frankenhooker is a great-looking film in general, as photographed by Let’s Scare Jessica To Death DP Robert M. Baldwin.
Cast-wise, the very charismatic and talented Mullen dominates the film, although the entire ensemble plays off each other nicely. And while James Lorinz might have been a pain on the set at times (per stories shared on Synapse’s extras) he’s great as the doctor that brings Mullen back to twisted life. This is ultimately Mullen’s show though.
Staten Island native Patty Mullen’s life changed in 1986 when a buddy of hers set her up for a Manhattan photo shoot. She was 20, and the photos were all it took. Even though she hadn’t considered posing for a publication like Penthouse, the photos led right to Bob Guccione’s gold-plated door. Appearing several times in the pages of Playboy’s better competition, Mullen seized the career opportunity, accepting a role in the Larry Reven shot Doom Asylum (1987). This should have marked the beginning of a prolific and long film career, as Patty Mullen was made for cinema.
Sadly, Frankenhooker is both Mullen’s second and final feature. After a long fight with the censors, the delayed film premiered, received mixed-to-negative reviews, and tanked. Caught between Penthouse and a flop, Mullen’s career stalled and then vanished. It is such a bummer, as she radiates star power throughout Frankenhooker and gives a really fine performance.
The film, complete with a talking box, became the instant cult classic its theatrical run should have made it. The film’s frustrating release helped signal Henenlotter’s surprising move away from his own films. He’d spend the next decade and a half admirably rescuing and restoring films for Something Weird Video. While he has returned to limited directing since, Henenlotter’s early career remains a great ‘what-if’ tale as the exhilarating Frankenhooker feels much more like a beginning than an end.
Synampse’s new 4K looks incredible. This all-new 2025 Dolby Vision 4K is simply spectacular-looking. You’ll feel like you’ve walked onto the streets of 1989 Manhattan watching it in such vivid detail. Extras are limited to the archival material found on previous releases, including several interviews and a commentary track. While it is a little disappointing that Synapse didn’t complement these decades-old supplements with some new extras, this is still a marvelous release of the hugely enjoyable Frankenhooker.
Super-Recommended.
-Jeremy Richey, October 2026-
Enjoy this large gallery of vintage clippings I clipped and saved:
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