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.
Chris Bumbray
