Frank Henenlotter
Birthday:
29 August 1950, New York City, New York, USA
Writer/director Frank Henenlotter was born August 29, 1950, in New York City. He gleefully "misspent" his youth watching a large array of blithely cheap'n'cheesy low-budget exploitation flicks in various seedy grindhouse theaters on Mahattan's 42nd St. He began making 8mm films as a teenager. His 16mm black-and-white short ...
Show more »
Writer/director Frank Henenlotter was born August 29, 1950, in New York City. He gleefully "misspent" his youth watching a large array of blithely cheap'n'cheesy low-budget exploitation flicks in various seedy grindhouse theaters on Mahattan's 42nd St. He began making 8mm films as a teenager. His 16mm black-and-white short Slash of the Knife (1972) actually played at a 42nd St. grindhouse midnight show with John Waters' Pink Flamingos (1972). He briefly worked as a commercial artist and graphic designer prior to embarking on a career as a filmmaker. Henenlotter's pictures are distinguished by their offbeat plots, cheerfully lowbrow humor, excessive gore and pervasively sordid atmosphere. He made a smashing horror film debut with the marvelously gruesome and sleazy monster splatter gem Basket Case (1982), which delivered a surprisingly substantial amount of touching pathos along with the expected over-the-top explicit violence and hilariously scuzzy humor. This terrifically twisted tale of two Siamese twins who exact a harsh revenge on the doctors who surgically separated them was a big midnight movie hit and deservedly achieved true cult classic status. Henenlotter's follow-up fright feature was the equally excellent and inspired Brain Damage (1988), another grotesquely original and imaginative winner that offers a potent and provocative allegory on drug addiction with its supremely sick story of a young man who becomes an initially unwitting host for a cunning, ancient and lethal parasite that feeds on human brains. Frankenhooker (1990) was an uproariously rude'n'raunchy tongue-in-cheek hoot, while both "Basket Case" sequels are very amusing and enjoyable affairs. Outside of writing and directing, Frank has been responsible for reissuing an enormous volume of vintage '60s and '70s horror, softcore and exploitation flicks on VHS and DVD alike for Something Weird Video; he has also served as an extremely funny, lively and entertaining moderator on numerous DVD commentaries for the company.After a regrettably lengthy absence from filmmaking, Henenlotter made a welcome comeback with the typically bizarre Bad Biology (2008). Show less «
I hate the "Golden Turkey" mentality . . . utterly and completely repulsive. It doesn't take a brain to sit around and make fun of a film. I...Show more »
I hate the "Golden Turkey" mentality . . . utterly and completely repulsive. It doesn't take a brain to sit around and make fun of a film. I don't appreciate Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988), either; I can make my own jokes. I don't need some smartass to tell me what's funny. I don't think that's real fandom; it's mass marketing. Show less «
[on being labeled a horror film director] I never felt that I made "horror films." I always felt that I made exploitation films. Exploitatio...Show more »
[on being labeled a horror film director] I never felt that I made "horror films." I always felt that I made exploitation films. Exploitation films have an attitude more than anything else -- an attitude that you don't find with mainstream Hollywood productions. They're a little ruder, a little raunchier, they deal with material people don't usually touch on, whether it's sex or drugs or rock and roll. Show less «
I think eccentrically and I'm a strange little person.
I think eccentrically and I'm a strange little person.
To me, B movies today are the crap Hollywood's releasing, but they're not doing it on a B movie budget.
To me, B movies today are the crap Hollywood's releasing, but they're not doing it on a B movie budget.
