Only One Movie Has Ever Earned an S Rating—And It's a Frankenstein-Inspired Horror-Comedy

Right, so if you think the film ratings board in the UK is bad, spare a thought for the Americans and their ever-opaque MPAA. Most of the time, the Yanks stick to a predictable formula – G, PG, PG-13, R, and that dreaded NC-17. Now and then, though, they do something genuinely baffling. Enter Frankenhooker – a 1990 horror-comedy take on Frankenstein so bizarrely rated by the MPAA that even the director was left wondering if he’d been had. Let’s dig into how this low-budget splatterfest managed to wind up with a mythical "S" rating, and exactly why it’s now hailed as a cult gem for people sick of studio polish and fainting-couch censors.

What Frankenhooker is Actually About

If you were hoping for subtlety, you’re looking in the wrong place. The plot: Jeffrey, a properly eccentric medical school dropout, is set to marry Elizabeth – who then gets herself ‘blended’ by one of Jeffrey’s homebrew inventions at a family party. I’m not making this up. She is quite literally minced like a lawn salad. So, stuck in the depths of despair and not knowing when to quit, Jeffrey decides the only thing for it is to reanimate her using spare parts. Unfortunately, those spare parts come from murdered sex workers, and when Elizabeth is revived, she’s taken on their less-than-conservative behaviours, stomping around a grubby late-80s New York asking random blokes, 'Wanna date?' Set against a backdrop of sex, drugs, 42nd Street mayhem and exploding bodies, this is hardly a romantic comedy.

The Parade of Faces

You’ve got Frank Henenlotter directing (yes, the same Henenlotter of Basket Case and Brain Damage infamy). James Lorinz plays Jeffrey, bringing a jittery, oddball charisma that you’d struggle to find in any “leading man” elsewhere. Patty Mullen, as ‘Frankenhooker’ herself, is much loved in genre circles, even if this ended up as her only major screen appearance. Cameos abound too: the legendary horror host John Zacherle pops up, as does Shirley Stoler from The Honeymoon Killers, and Louise Lasser of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman notoriety.

To give you a taste of the film’s, shall we say, distinctive tone, here’s a quote from the in-universe newscaster:

"It was this power mower that brought a quick end to the life of 21-year-old, bride-to-be, Elizabeth Shelley. Like wood through a mulcher, the girthful fiancé disappeared beneath the blades of the berserk mower that sent her personality raining down upon the birthday revelers. In a blaze of blood, bones, and body parts, the vivacious young girl was instantly reduced to a tossed human salad, a salad that police are still trying to gather up, a salad that was once named Elizabeth."

How on Earth Did the Film Get Rated "S"?

Now, here’s where we leave normal film trivia behind. In a DVD commentary, Frank Henenlotter (with actor James Lorinz beside him) tells the story of dealing with the MPAA – that’s the American ratings board notorious for its love of arbitrary decisions. Henenlotter got a phone call from a certain Richard Heffner, who told him: ‘Congratulations, you are the first film rated S.’ When Henenlotter asked what on earth that meant, he was told, bluntly, 'S is for sh*t.'

Unsurprisingly, Henenlotter was not exactly flattered. He thought the MPAA had no business getting personal like that, and what followed was an unusually public spat. Producer James Glickenhaus even made sure the press knew he was fighting to have the film released as intended.

Eventually, the MPAA swapped 'S' for an X rating (which, at the time, was about as commercial as a tapeworm), right before axing the X in favour of NC-17 that very year. Henenlotter and his team weren’t having it. They put the film out uncut and unrated instead, which – surprise, surprise – didn’t make finding screens any easier.

After trimming the runtime of the more “festive” sequences – notably, scenes involving some exploding sex workers – the film did eventually get its R rating. The change, for the record, was all of about one minute’s worth of carnage dropped. Couldn’t make it up.

Henenlotter on Being an Outsider

Henenlotter never had much patience for Hollywood rules. In an interview with The Skinny, he summed up his approach to low-budget filmmaking and its underdog status:

'Usually you don’t have the money to compete with Hollywood so you compete by making it about something that Hollywood isn’t interested in embracing. Any time Hollywood has embraced a controversial subject there’s been an exploitation film or a hundred who have been there first.'

The Cult That Frankenhooker Built

Unsurprisingly, Frankenhooker was never destined for multiplex glory – but it’s also precisely why it’s become a fan favourite. It sits comfortably next to Henenlotter’s other nasties, like Basket Case and Brain Damage. There’s the macabre sense of humour, dizzying practical gore, and a parade of one-liners that get quoted endlessly at conventions and Halloween marathons alike. Patty Mullen, in particular, is electric as the bride from hell, and no one forgets the scene where various prostitutes explode after indulging in 'super crack.'

If you’re even remotely interested in old-school exploitation, or you’ve got a taste for sleazy, schlocky New York – back when 42nd Street was wild and films like Taxi Driver or Maniac captured the city’s wild side – then Frankenhooker deserves a place on your shelf.

• James Lorinz as Jeffrey Franken
• Patty Mullen as Elizabeth Shelley / Frankenhooker
• Louise Lasser as Jeffrey's mother
• Joseph Gonzalez as Zorro
• Shirley Stoler as Mrs. Shelley
• J.J. Clark as Mr. Shelley
• John Zacherle as The Weatherman (cameo)