Rock & Roll Frankenstein

Director - Brian O'Hara (The Prince of Porn)
Starring - Graig Guggenheim (Analyze That), Jayson Spence, and Barry Feterman
Release Date - 1999
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "A different kind of monster"
Format - Streaming (Netflix)

Rating (out of 5):

     Sometime last year I downloaded Netflix on my Xbox 360 as a way to save money.  I usually spend anywhere from 2 - 3 hundred each month on movies and I was hoping that by putting Netflix on my Xbox I would no longer need to spend that much money on films.  That did not happen.  When I hear of a movie I automatically search for it on Amazon to see if I can order it and If I can then that is exactly what I do.  However, Netflix opens the door for films I have never heard of.  Most are terrible, but sometimes you stumble across some that are decent.  This is one of those films that I found and had no idea it existed.  One could only assume that it was a horror comedy in the same vain as Frankenhooker, a film that I absolutely love.  After much thought I decided to give it a go.

       Bernie Stein (Feterman) is a foul mouthed music agent that is always getting the shaft from his clients.  After his last big act walked out on him, he vowed he will no longer be screwed over anymore.  He vows that he will actually own his next client.  That is where his creepy nephew, Frankie Stein (Spence), comes in to play.  Frankie was once a coroner that lost his job.  Frankie created a chemical that can rejuvenate the body parts of those deceased and bring them back to life.  He used that serum to rejuvenate a deceased female's vagina and was caught having sex with it forcing him to lose his job.  His uncle gave him a large sum of money so he can apply that serum, and his medical knowledge, to a project creating a musician out of the body parts of deceased rock stars.  Bernie has his roadie accomplice, Iggy, gather the parts from all over the world.  Bernie wants him to use the hands of Jimi Hendrix, the head of Elvis, something of Buddy Hollys, and the most important part of all, Jim Morrison's love tool.  However, Iggy and his stoner partners screw up and  grab Liberace's penis instead.  It takes some time for his creation, simply known as King, to get readjusted back in to the world of the living.  King is a natural at making music but has a problem when it comes to getting some strange from his groupies.  King just can't seem to get it up when they are around.  He also has an infatuation with shoving gerbils up his ass.  With King's rise in popularity more and more girls are throwing themselves at him.  His heterosexual mind and homosexual penis are conflicting and that is driving King mad.  To make things worse, Liberace's penis has grown in size and now has a personality of it's own.  When ever King becomes horny he kills those he comes in contact with.  Frankie and Bernie soon discover what had happened.  Frankie is fine with it and tells King to follow his feelings, however, Bernie does not like it because he could be shunned by the public and he will lose money.  To help King with his problem, Frankie decides to go ahead and surgically remove the penis.  He soon discovers that the penis has mutated and is now wrapped around his spinal column.  Frankie refuses to operate because it can kill King.  King does not like the news and pulls a scalpel on him.  The two struggle and Frankie is stabbed through the heart.  Bernie tricks King in to thinking he will find another doctor to perform the surgery.  After thinking on it, Bernie decides not to have a doctor operate because the Village People made millions.  King is pissed and kills Bernie before ripping his penis off.

     This movie was surprisingly decent.  I'm not saying that I loved it, but I am saying it did not fail to entertain.  After looking at the cover art displayed on Netflix I assumed this film would be bad.  Looks can be deceiving.  The acting is actually very well done.  This is the only acting credit for most of the cast, which is sad if you ask me.  I really enjoyed the characters Frankie and Iggy and wouldn't mind seeing the actors in some other films.  The special effects are hit and miss.  The kills are nothing impressive and neither are the effects on King.  Some fake blood splatter is all we get for the deaths and King has black paint on his hands with fake stitches painted around his neck.  Most of the good special effects revolve around the beginning of the film with reanimated cow heads and mutated rodents.  As for the story, it is nothing special but it does entertain.  The simple story does reflect the small budget but sometimes you need that in order for the film to work.  I think it is safe to say that the production team behind this one drew inspiration from the Henenlotter film, Frankenhooker.   That is not a bad thing because it does offer a cheesy interpretation of the Frankenstein mythos.  Overall, if your looking for a movie to kill an hour and a half that will entertain then this one is for you.  This movie is just mindless entertainment and should not be over-analyzed or you will not enjoy it.