Dr. Hackenstein 2004 Horror Movie Review

Dr. Hackenstein is a surprisingly well-acted movie bordered nicely by Tromatic bookends.  Fans of Troma classics such as The Toxic Avenger and Surf Nazis Must Die will not be disappointed by the Lloyd Kaufman intro and the gruesome ending of this film.  The meat of the 1988 movie is a solid parody of the Frankenstein, teen slasher, and thriller genres; it also plays with the Cinderella archetype.  Set in early 20th-century America, this is the story of a delusional and demented Dr. Elliot Hackenstein.  His wife supposedly decapitated in a helicopter accident, he strives for the classic Frankensteinian goal of reincarnation.  After scaring to death the dean of the medical school where he teaches, Dr. Hackenstein is visited by hapless, wealthy teenagers on a rowdy night out.  Two of the teenage girls try to seduce Dr. Hackenstein, who uses them to fulfill his plot to rebuild his wife from multiple women.  We never learn exactly why he needs to splice multiple humans together to rejuvenate his dead wife (as in the similarly themed Frankenhooker, released within two years of this film, where the ostensible goal is to find the most perfect parts to be the body for his fiancee’s brain after she was mangled by a lawnmower).  He is foiled by the girls’ younger brother, who catches onto the plot, and their innocent cousin, who sincerely courts Hackenstein.  Cheap Troma humor is spliced throughout and provided in part by socialite mother Phyllis Diller (parent and aunt of Dr. Hackenstein’s vistors) and grave-robbers Anne and Logan Ramsey.  In addition to the Kaufman intro, hardcore Troma fans will appreciate the wealth of music videos and previews that stick to the studio’s classic style. —Brian Saltzman