Topic: FRANKENHOOKER on Blu-ray
This movie certainly has in interesting history on disc. I remember seeing the DVD in a video store many years ago. Checking the release date, I discovered that the film was released on DVD on Novenber 10, 1998! That's significant for 2 reasons: 1) By pure concidence, it's exactly 13 years ago today and 2) It's the very dawn of DVD.
That original 1998 release was supplanted by a much better disc produced by Unearthed Films in 2008.
Now Synapse is producing FRANKENHOOKER on Blu-ray.
I have to say that I was very surprised by the quality of the image which rivals many big studio movies on Blu-ray. Of course, this was Frank Henenlotter's "big" budget movie when compared to his other epic: Basket Case. This is a great looking disc showing almost no unusual manipulation in the form of excessive edge enhancement (a bit, not much) or noise reduction. Color and contrast are perfect.
Three soundtracks are provided. One is the commentary track. The other two tracks are DTS-HD Master Audio with the original stereo or a 5.1 remix.
I was impressed by the female lead Patty Mullen who not only did a great job but struck me as unusually good-looking. Turns out, she was a Penthouse Pet! But she really did a wonderful job with the character. I thought she was the best actress in the film and it was only when viewing the bonus material on the disc that I discovered she wasn't an actress at all.
A quick snyopsis for those not familiar with the plot. Jeffrey Franken's fiance is killed by a remote controlled lawn mower. Franken decides to rebuild his girl friend using parts from New York City hookers. For some reason, that just doesn't work out too well.
Highly entertaining and highly recommended for fans of the bizarre.
