Frank can do gore when he wants.
You saw Basket Case, remember that one doctor with a drawerful of scalpels in her face like a porcupine? That was way extreme for 1980 (though by 1990 it would be routine), Gabe Bartolos, who did the effects for Frankenhooker (and Brain Damage and Bad Biology) started his career on the Tom Savini staff. He delivered doll parts because that is what the director wanted/needed.
The "doll-part" look was a deliberate choice, because, even though Jeffrey's deeds were truly evil, the tone of the movie was lighthearted -- you aren't supposed to think of Jeffrey or his crimes as evil until after he loses his johnson.
Jeffrey, though neither he nor most of the audience is made very aware of it, is a misogynist. (For example, he thinks his life-saving miracle formula is worthless because it only works on women! What a sexist bastard!) It is because he has no real respect for women that his ironic punishment is to become one. And despite the popular belief thst "love is all that matters," he cannot accept a happy lesbian ending with Elizabeth -- though she is happy to reunite with him, even in a same-sex pairing.
In the end, Jeffrey loves his own johnson more than he loves Elizabeth, and so his attempts to manipulate everyone else for his own sexual heaven (treating people as if they were his dolls) has created his own sexual hell.
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Yinky
11 years ago
Wow. I would love to hear your take on Motel Hell.
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