Bad Biology
Acclaimed director Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case, Brain Damage, Frankenhooker) is back with a twisted tale of love and weirdness. Driven by biological excess, a young man and woman search for sexual fulfillment, unaware of each other’s existence. Unfortunately, they eventually meet, and the bonding of these two very unusual human beings ends in an explosive and ultimately over-the-top sexual experience, resulting in a truly god-awful love story…. With bizarre special effects by Gabe Bartalos, a hip-hop soundtrack from Prince Paul, and shot in glorious 35mm, Bad Biology is guaranteed to shock even the most desensitized of audiences, and sure to become a modern cult classic.
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(out of 14 reviews)
Review by Jerry P. Danzig for Bad Biology
Rating:
Bwa ha ha — the master of the midnight movie is back, after far too long an absence from the scene, with what one might actually accept as the ultimate “grrl power” flick.
But acceptance is not Henenlotter’s purpose here. His aim as usual is to entertain, shock, and amuse, and he attains his goals on his accustomed shoe-string budget.
Indeed, part of the fun of this DVD is listening to the commentary, in which the outre auteur and his young white-boy-rapper producer describe the guerilla movie-making techniques they employed to realize this bizarre sexual fantasy. The fact that they accidentally set fire to the 150-year-old mansion they rented for a whopping $4,000 as the film’s primary location — and then extinguished the flame with diet soda — gives you some clue that this was not a normal shoot!
And then there are the purple-hued “penis-cam” shots…
Suffice it to say that if you enjoy “Something Weird” videos, you will likely enjoy this film, which also features one of the most tragic “happy endings” you will ever see.
As the director says on the commentary, at the consummation of this unusual love story, “Now there’s something you don’t see every day.” That’s what makes this film — and Henenlotter himself — so special…
Review by M. Ryan Fairbanks for Bad Biology
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As I’m sure anyone bothering to watch Bad Biology already knows, this is the first movie in over fifteen years from Frank Henenlotter, the man behind cult classics such as Basket Case and Brain Damage. Fun, eccentric, low budget horror that often had a message through the hilarity and the gore. Henenlotter was sorely missed during his break from film making, but this latest offering, Bad Biology, doesn’t exactly make it worth the wait.
I really don’t want to reiterate the ridiculous plot behind Bad Biology, firstly because a couple others have already done so, but also because this review wouldn’t even get posted if it was described in detail. I have watched more than my fair share of over-the-top, low budget horror swill, and it isn’t too often that I feel that a movie goes too far. Bad Biology simply goes too far.
So many are quick to write off horror films as little more than shock value trash, and its movies like this that only fuel that fire. Bad Biology is not creative, it’s just weird for the sake of being weird. An experiment in seeing how far one can push the envelope.
In its defense, it is admirable that Bad Biology stays in the same low budget realm as Henelotter’s other classics, however that’s about the only small consolation to be found in this train wreck. Although it’s bound to become a cult classic in its own right, it’s difficult to imagine Bad Biology reaching anywhere near the infamous heights of it’s predacessors and superiors Basketcase and Brain Damage. I’m just hoping Bad Biology was a fluke and that Henenlotter hasn’t really lost it this badly in his old age.
Review by M. S. Skidmore for Bad Biology
Rating:
When a movie begins with the not so subtle opening credit of ”An R.A. The Rugged Man Thorburn production’ you get the impression that you’re not entering into the next great cinematic masterpiece. However, when that is followed by ‘A Film by Frank Henenlotter’ your hopes are raised considerably higher. However, from my recent viewing of Mr Henenlotter’s latest endeavor, maybe I shouldn’t have raised my hopes that high at all…
Henelotter has been away from directing movies for a very long time and for me at least, he’s been sorely missed. His unique brand of bizarre ideas combined with an actual ‘idea’ behind them proved a very successful antidote to all those 80s slashers that he was so obviously trying to distance himself away from. Beginning with the great ‘Basket Case 1 & 2′ to my favourite anti-drugs movie ‘Bran Damage’ and finally with the near classic ‘Frankenhooker’, old Uncle Frank has entertained me time and time again with his off the wall humor and strange creature features. So, to see him ‘come home’ has been an exciting proposition to say the least…
Which brings us to ‘Bad Biology’. The story has Jennifer, a young woman with a strange abnormal mutation (which we couldn’t possibly discuss on a family website) which gives her a heightened lust for sexual gratification. Across town, a young man named Bax, who has his own sexual issues (again, which I won’t spoil here) injects steroids into his . . . err . . . gentleman jim to satisfy his own particular frustrations. The first half of the movie splices scenes of these two sexual adventurers in their many encounters with hapless horny folk up until their long awaited meeting when . . . well, let’s say sparks do indeed fly between the two.
This eventual meeting is possibly the problem with the movie. The preceeding 50 minutes or so is just a collection of soft core sex scenes combined with awful acting from a plethora of rap stars and adult actresses and you yearn for the main couple to meet. The lead up to their union is quite dull and you find yourself wanting to forward to the end… Lead Charlee Danielson isn’t the best actor in the world and when she breaks the ‘fourth wall’ by talking to the audience about her lustful activities – it comes across as amateur and mis-directed (instead of amusing and fresh, which it was so obviously trying to be). Anthony Sneed doesn’t fair much better either, yet he does represent the usual Henenlotter lead actor role with the ”boy with a secret” scenario that is prevalent in many of Frank’s back history of films. To be fair, the acting across the board is pretty painful and one particular scene which takes place in a diner where 3 teens talk candidly about their private life is so badly acted and staged that it resembles a school play or indeed a rehearsal for the final scene.
The film plods along at a slow pace with the odd shot of female flesh every 3 minutes, and even this usually helpful cinematic device becomes tiresome at the 40 minute mark. Your mind starts to wish old Aylmer or Belial would turn up and give this movie some life . . . or at least, a little personality. Things that are obviously shocking or subversive in the film makers minds just come across as cheap, sleazy and tacky in actuality and the wonderfully dull script by both Henenlotter and Rugged Man is both school boy smirk and tired horror comedy in one – and not something of originality and wit that I feel Henenlotter was always remembered for.
On one hand, I admire his dedication to keeping things low budget and not just directing the usual horror sequel dreck – but, when you compare this to his older catalogue – it seems the director is far from the top of his game.
This review, taken from the UK Region 2 release (I am assuming there maybe extras on the Region 1 release) – the disc is a movie only affair, yet the picture is sharp and the movie does look good on what is obviously a low budget. The audio is a little all over the place, but that’s a minor quibble. The film itself isn’t the comeback I was hoping for and just in another long line of crude and smutty horror comedies that clog up video store shelves. Watch ‘Brain Damage’ again instead.
Review by E. Barrios for Bad Biology
Rating:
Director Frank Henenlotter outdid himself with this film. I can see it becoming a cult classic in no time at all. It’s funny, weird, and entertaining all rolled up into one sick package. In a nutshell, the movie is about a photographer named Jennifer who’s a nympho that was born with seven clitorises! So yeah, Jennifer is a bit of freak, but she’s one horny freak who sexually satisfies herself by way of one-night stands in the hope of finding Mr. Right, but in mutant form much like herself.
Charlee Danielson, who plays the quirky Jennifer, is sexy and funny. She manages to pull off the role very convincingly. I’d like to see her do more roles like this.
Anyway, once I reached the end of the film, I was left feeling disturbed by what Jennifer had done and yet amused, too. It’s a strange feeling. Guys, you better see this with your male friends because it may be too far out for the ladies.
I will definitely buy this for my collection. Hey, what can I say.
Review by Bryan Creel for Bad Biology
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Let me preface this review – Bad Biology is not a film for everyone. It is a completely insane plot and the production values are not exactly sky-high.
The director is known for creating cult, over the top movies, and he doesn’t disappoint here. The opening scene is the female lead explaining to us how she was born with 7 (at least) clits. It moves forward from there. I just couldn’t stop watching. It was so insane that we had to see what would happen next. Also, if you are a dude, you will enjoy the plethora of boobs sprinkled liberally throughout the experience.
This is a good one to rent if you are in the mood for something different. Believe me, you’ll get something different!