Purple Hair, Exploding Hookers, and Lawn Mower Mayhem—Frankenhooker Explained

Welcome back to Trees in Space, where we bravely plow through every bizarre movie genre the universe can throw at us—armed only with questionable nostalgia, overly honest hot takes, and the kinds of jokes that only make sense to people who may or may not still be thirteen at heart. This week, your hosts Nate and Jason take a hilariously awkward deep dive into the cult-classic oddity that is Frankenhooker (1990). Imagine: a medical school dropout, a tragic lawnmower “accident,” a fiancée whose head ends up in a fish tank, and a super-convoluted plan to reassemble lost love with... let’s just call them “parts” from New York’s finest streetwalkers—and a lot of super crack. Yes, you read that right. Nate and Jason duke it out over whether Frankenhooker is a misunderstood B-movie treasure or a monstrous mishmash of questionable prosthetics and even more questionable plot choices. Expect breakdowns of the film’s delightfully terrible special effects, philosophical debates on purple hair, explosive reviews (literally... exploding people everywhere), and a heartfelt appreciation for practical effects over bad CGI—all with a splash of 90s VHS charm. By the end, you'll have heard five-star worship, one-star rants, and a ratings system so convoluted even Jason has trouble explaining the difference between “four trees and a stump” and “one tree with a stump.” If you’re in the mood for a review that's as weirdly captivating as the film itself, you’re in for a treat. So grab your remote-controlled lawnmower, pour one out for Elizabeth’s head, and get ready: it’s time for Trees in Space to go where no (sane) reviewer has gone before—into the wild, stitched-together world of Frankenhooker.