Bad Biology (2008)
Bad Biology
-2008
Reviewer: Indy McDaniel
Rating: 5
Director: Frank Henenlotter
Writer: Frank Henenlotter, R.A. Thorburn
Cast: Charlee Danielson, Anthony Sneed, Mark Wilson, Staff Sgt. John A. Thorburn, Remedy
Run Time: 85 minutes
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Date Reviewed: July 1st, 2009
Plot: 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.
Comments: Despite having not made a movie in 16 years, Frank Henenlotter doesn’t seem to have lost a step. Bad Biology is just as deranged, weird and funny as any of his other ‘B’ movies. And by ‘B’ movies, I’m not talking about the quality of them. I’m talking Basket Case and Brain Damage. The guy definitely knows how to craft bizarre into a movie. That also might not be the best thing, cuz if you’re familiar with his movies, you tend to expect the weirdness and how things’ll play out.
Bad Biology is classic Henenlotter, if Henenlotter decided to do a softcore late-night Cinemax porno. The movie is FX lite and nudity heavy, although Frank, as usual, has no problem spreading the nudity around and making his male actors strip down along with his actresses, which tends to make things a nice, level playing ground. From the very beginning, the movie proves that it isn’t gonna be traditional at all. The female protagonist, Jennifer, is some kind of genetic mutant with multiple clitorises, causing her to be a total nympho. She’s also occasionally homicidal and spews out deformed babies about two hours after having sex. She carries a good portion of the story and also is responsible for the voice over narrative, which is actually filled with some brilliant bits of dialogue. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of them is limited due to the rapid fire, dead-pan delivery.
Then there’s main character number two, Batz, who comes in about a third of the way through the movie. He’s a classic Henenlotter character if there ever was one. A tortured young man being forced to deal with some kind of personal monstrosity. In this case, it’s his drug-addicted, massive dick with a mind of its own. His story is really just a mixture of Brain Damage and Basket Case, and while it is sometimes fun to watch, it’s also a bit obvious recycling.
After a whole slew of weird scenes, the two main characters (who seem to be made for each other) wind up getting together. Of course, this is just after Batz’s dick has decided to go renegade and detach itself. This leads to a very silly montage where the rogue penis bashes its way through walls and floorboards and into pretty, young women’s apartments. Apparently, it’s managed to find an apartment complex where all the girls are naked for no apparent reason. Once it gets up to the fifth girl, in a row, things have stopped being amusing and just start to get boring and gratuitous. The climax, again, is classic Henenlotter and, if you’re familiar with his flicks, pretty predictable.
Overall: If you like Henenlotter’s other flicks, you’ll prolly dig this one, but it might feel a bit familiar.
