10 Horror Movies Critics Were Way Too Harsh On

3. Frankenhooker

Stigmata  movie
Shapiro Glickenhaus Entertainment

How do you put a fresh spin on Mary Shelley's iconic Frankenstein tale? Why, you set it in 1990's New Jersey and let Basket Case and Brain Damage favourite Frank Henenlotter oversee the action.

Frankenhooker barely registered upon its brief cinema release in late '90, yet it is a picture that has become somewhat of a cult favourite in the years since its initial release.

In Frankenhooker, James Lorinz plays Jeffrey Franken (geddit?!), a disgraced med student who has an interest in using electricity to reanimate body parts. When his fiancée Elizabeth Shelley (Patty Mullen) dies by decapitation during an unfortunate lawnmower accident in the film's opening act, Jeffrey is determined to bring his beau back to life.

That's the Franken of Frankenhooker, so where does the hooker element come into play? Why, that's because Jeffrey decides to ply a group of prostitutes with supercrack™; causing them to literally explode, so that he can mix and match the best body parts to use in his plan to bring Elizabeth back to life.

Few critics looked favourably on Frankenhooker at the time of its release, with the schlocky nature of the movie, its title and some of its content being an instant turn off for many. The thing is, the film is nothing if not fun and entertaining - and let's face it, that's something we all need from time to time.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.