of the ratings body actually said, in a phone call to the production company's secretary, "Congratulations, you're the first film rated S." And she said, "S? For sex?" And they said, "No, S for shit." To his dismay, Henenlotter's conservative parents insisted on attending the film's premiere in New York City; Henenlotter expressed surprise that they were not offended by the exploitative elements. Reception The film has a 57% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 5.09/10. Variety wrote, "Frankenhooker is a grisly, grotesque horror comedy recommended only for the stout of heart and strong of stomach." Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that "there is a legitimate sense of the absurd lurking within Frank Henenlotter's Frankenhooker," but it is "overshadowed by special effects" and elements that recall soft-core pornography. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it a "hilarious, totally outrageous grin-and-gore comedy."Frankenhooker was named "Killer B Film of the Year for 1990" by E! Entertainment Television's Attack of the Killer B's segment. Bill Murray was quoted as saying "If you see one movie this year, it should be Frankenhooker." Henenlotter said that Murray had been editing his film Quick Change and hung out with the Frankenhooker crew. After Murray expressed interest in their film, the distributor attempted to get an endorsement from him. Embarrassed that they would abuse Murray's friendliness, Henenlotter attempted to avoid Murray. When they eventually ran into each other, Henenlotter apologized and explained that he was not responsible. Satisfied with the explanation, Murray volunteered a quotation. Home media Frankenhooker was released on VHS in 1990, by Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment, and had an interactive box which had the titular character exclaim "wanna date?!" when you pressed a button on the box. On November 8, 2011, Synapse Films released Frankenhooker on Blu-ray. This edition has reversible cover art, with the original theatrical poster on one side and newly commissioned artwork on the reverse side. The disc contains a 2K high definition transfer of the film and a digitally remastered 5.1 audio mix, as well as an audio commentary track from writer/director Frank Henenlotter and make-up effects designer Gabe Bartalos, three featurettes and the original theatrical trailer. The special features from this release were also available on the DVD version of the film, released on September 10, 2013. On January 2, 2012, Arrow Films released a special edition Blu-ray of Frankenhooker.