Bad Biology has that Most Basic of Film Plots, “Boy Meets Girl”
| Tweet | |
In Bad Biology it’s everything that happens before and after the boy meets the girl that is so bizarre and unique.
Written by James “Crypticpsych” Lasome
May 6, 2010
Image Gallery
Buy on Amazon
Release: April 4, 2008 (U.S. Festival), January 26, 2010 (US DVD)
Directed by: Frank Henenlotter
Written by: Frank Henenlotter and R.A. Thorburn
Starring:
Charlee Danielson as Jennifer
Anthony Sneed as Batz
Mark Wilson as Pool Player
Beverly Bonner as Neighbor Lady
Bad Biology is a movie that is almost impossible to review without offending delicate sensibilities. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to, I just felt readers might want to know before I jump in.
Jennifer (Danielson), our main character, is a pretty photographer with a secret. On the surface, she looks just like everyone else. However, she was born with seven clitorises. This has led her on a lifelong quest for, and obsession with, sexual satisfaction. In addition to this, she also has a superhumanly sped-up pregnancy cycle (as seen in the movie’s first 15 minutes, where she proceeds from impregnation thru cravings to birth in a span of about 3 minutes). She initially believed these to be a curse after being abandoned by a loving boyfriend upon his discovery of her “differences”, but has since accepted them as a powerful gift from God.
Batz (Sneed), is a recluse with a “drug problem”. Not your typical heroin, marijuana, crystal meth, drug problem…no. See, Batz has a secret too: as a child, the doctors cut his penis off by accident, instead of his umbilical cord. In an attempt to make amends, he was given a penile transplant.�However, said organ was not properly functioning. In
desperation, he turned to experimental medications and animal steroids to figuratively bring it back to life. Unfortunately for him, he used so much of them over so long a period of time that it did regain function…and size. Batz was left with a penis that was two feet long…and literally back to life and sentient. Much of his time now is spent feeding “its” needs and mechanically satiating his urges.
One day, Jennifer is producing a photo shoot in a part of Batz’s house through a friend of his. (A photoshoot that involves putting vagina masks on women’s faces.) Jennifer sees Batz during it and becomes obsessed with him and finding out his secret. Will she discover his not-so-little friend, and if so, what will happen when the two unstoppable forces converge?
Bad Biology is Frank Henenlotter’s return to the genre, his first film since the third film in his own Basket Case series in 1992. It is every bit as bizarre and unique as the rest of his filmography, if not more so, and, in fact, is a love letter to his fans, in a way, including his usual twisted body-horror themes, visual references to his film Brain Damage and a cameo by Beverly Bonner (who has appeared in all of his other films). Bad Biology may not seem like a typical horror movie, but lets just say this movie has a definite body count and one of the most unique and absurd “killer P.O.V.” sequences I’ve ever seen.
In addition to some of the strangest visuals you will see in any movie and exactly the amount of sex and nudity you would expect from a plot like that (and a supporting cast with certain roles on their filmography), Bad Biology shows itself to be more than just crass exploitation through the acting of Danielson and a brilliant script, particularly her lines. She makes this movie and it is her performance, her line delivery, her story, and her charisma that draw the viewer into this utterly of-its-mind movie. It takes a hell of an actress to turn this particular role into one that’s believably almost feminist and Danielson is that actress. Sneed is good as Batz, and acts very well against prosthetics and in a very bizarre role, but at times, he feels like a mannequin holding and reacting to the movie’s real male star, his penis. That’s not necessarily saying he’s bad, he’s just not as good as Danielson.
If this movie has one flaw, it’s Henenlotter’s cowriter/producer, R.A. Thorburn. It’s not that his script is bad, it’s great. However, R.A. Thorburn is a rapper. Thus this movie has guest appearances by a variety of his rapper friends and a rap score. That idea can work, but in this particular movie, it feels out of place at times with the story of Jennifer and Batz. This movie doesn’t need that angle to be unique and individual. One realizes that the moment Jennifer gives birth…
Bad Biology is a breed of movie the likes of which you probably haven’t seen before. It takes the most threadworn, tried-and-true love story archetype and warps it so heavily that it becomes a fresh and unique horrific dark romance. Welcome back, Mr. Henenlotter…you were missed. Questions or comments about Bad Biology? Discuss it on The Ossuary Forums!
Take me to Horror Movie Reviews!
Horror Movie Freaks is the FREE eZine from Best-Horror-Movies.com that will give you the new horror releases, the new horror news and the new horror reviews that you CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT!!
Subscribing is easy, painless and free.
Do it NOW!!
