Review: Bad Biology

Last Updated on July 27, 2021

PLOT:
Jennifer (Charlee Danielson) has a peculiar problem. She was born with seven clits, and demands constant sexual satisfaction. Along with her advanced sexual drive- her reproductive organs are also freakishly advanced- and after having unprotected sex, Jennifer will usually give birth to a deformed fetus within the hour. Usually- she’ll simply kill her partner during sex, and dispose of the fetus- but, alas- poor Jennifer is a woman with needs. She’s lonely, and seeks a companion who can fulfil her desires. Enter Batz, a similarly distraught young man- who packs a giant mutated penis with a mind of it’s own…literally, and who just might be the man of her dreams.


REVIEW:

BAD BIOLOGY marks the eagerly awaited return of cult director Frank Henenlotter, after having spent the last sixteen years away from film. While I myself am more or less unaware of his previous films- I can assure his fans that this is one seriously batshit film. It’s easily the most twisted film I’ve seen this year- and sure to please those looking for something a little unconventional (to say the least).

This film is really a great example of a true, independent, underground film. BAD BIOLOGY is so outside the mainstream that it hasn’t a hope of ever hitting a theater near you (except as a midnight movie), and will likely mostly be seen on DVD- which is a shame as this is a film that really demands to be seen with an audience that digs this type of thing.

The Fantasia fest was a great place to see this film- and as an added bonus, Henenlotter himself was there to present the film, along with his producer R.A the Rugged Man Thorburn. Considering the film I had just seen, I was a bit taken aback by how genial and normal Henenlotter seemed to be (although the Rugged Man was quite the character- and I mean that in the best possible way).

The film itself is an extremely low budget affair. Although shot on 35mm it
looks like it was shot on Hi-def to me, and the sound mix of the film is at times is quite bad making a lot of the dialogue hard to decipher.
NOTE: I was told that they had to rush
the film to the Fest with an incomplete sound mix hence the bad sound.
Still- you’ve got to hand it to Henenlotter- he obviously made exactly the film he wanted to make, and despite the fact that it’s unbelievably sick, and demented- it’s also quite entertaining.

During his Q & A- Thorburn claimed to have financed the entire film himself- and that the cast was mostly composed of his friends and people he found on Myspace (which- he points out, he did long before Gus Van Sant did the same thing for PARANOID PARK). The cast is actually quite good, and I particularly liked Danielson as the lead. She gives a fearless performance. I think- despite it’s technical short comings, Henenelotter & Thornberg made a very entertaining- if psychotic, film.

While BAD BIOLOGY certainly isn’t for everyone- I had a great time with it. If you’re a Henenlotter fan (or insane)- check it out.

My rating 7/10
Chris Bumbray

Review: Bad Biology

GOOD

7

Source: AITH

About the Author

Chris Bumbray began his career with JoBlo as the resident film critic (and James Bond expert) way back in 2007, and he has stuck around ever since, being named editor-in-chief in 2021. A voting member of the CCA and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, you can also catch Chris discussing pop culture regularly on CTV News Channel.