From the Basket to Documentarian
I watch everything Frank Henenlotter has created. His movies are such a natural progression from watching mutants on TV as a child to watching monster films as an adult. Basketcase, Brain Damage and Bad Biology ride on the same artistic aesthetics as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Biker Mice From Mars, Creepy Crawlers and of course Toxic Crusaders. Pop Culture raised me on mutants and they’ll have to drag me kicking and screaming for me to abandon them in my somewhat mature adult years.
Frank has now entered the realm of documentary filmmaking, putting his love for all things controversial on display for the world to see. When I had Covid I watched my first Henenlotter documentary “That’s Sexploitation” which covered stag films, softcore pornography and anything that drew money in a time before hard pornography was legal. The content in the films being talked about was of zero interest to me but the legalities and controversy was what sold me along with the fact that I’m a consuming completionist monster when it comes to certain series, films, directors, etc. Horror and pornography come hand in hand. Alot of porn directors especially notorious New York City filmakers turned their sights on horror when pornography wasn’t quite getting the job done, was becoming too mainstream and the market saturated. Horror was another outlet to shock and titilate audiences who were eager to spend their money on a new fix. And soon just as with pornography censorship police were looming over the fly by night cash cow films of 42nd Street. Frank Henenlotter felt this knee jerk reaction himself as his films were picked apart, refused for distribution and cut down until they were both unrecognizable and irrelevant from the artistic vision. Censorship is Frankly a hot button issue for the director and it is as obvious in “Boiled Angels The Trial of Mike Diana” as it was in “That’s Sexploitation” that Henenlotter will leave no stone unturned in his pursuit of defending artistic freedom.
How the Story Began
Mr. Henenlotter once again has taken to task artistic censorship in the 2018 film Boiled Angels. The documentary kicks off where the story actually begins which is of course Horror Comics vs Public Decency in the 1950s which gave rise to the short lived Comic Code Authority. The Comic Code Authority would run on the same principals as the later formed MPAA (Motion Pictures Authority of America). In theory it makes some sense to run content through a filter which seperates art into appropriate age groups. But like the MPAA the Comic Code Authority was about over reach. They not only filtered comic books for age ratings but neutered artististic vision when it didn’t follow their own bias morals deeming what legal creative spaces should or should not exist. If the content was too far gone with forced edits not leaving enough crumbs for a meal they would take the next step using the code to effectively sabotage profittable distribution of the product. The code of conduct wasn’t just an up in arms parental group, it was introduced as something that if violated could have legal ramifications. EC Comics famous for their Tales From the Crypt line of educational comics were the basis of this unlawful attack on creative freedoms. This familiar story is laid out in the documentary by Creepshow’s George A. Romero in one of his last interviews before his unfortunate passing, along with others associated with EC Comics. This all sets the scene for a 90s case that connected a young underground comic book artist with the real life serial killings in Gainsville Florida. The killings, which would within a few years inspire the Scream franchise would cause controversy by linking the offensive pages of “Underground Comic Zine” Boiled Angels written and drawn by young punk rock artist Mike Diana to murder scenes in the investigation.
Family Life vs Creative Interests
Diana’s parents and siblings get interviewed along with other Underground Zine creators to paint a picture of the culture and his home life. Henenlotter goes to great lengths to stay neutral throughout the film allowing the viewer to come up with their own conclusion. The opposing interviews feel just as honest and without judgement as the defence. Mike’s art thematically is as bad as you can imagine it can get. It’s the edgy teenager art scribbled on desks or scratched into bathroom stalls that most artists evolve beyond (if they get the chance) but his attitude and demeanor is the exact opposite to what he puts on the page.
A Larger Conversation to Consider
It’s easy to want to condemn someone obnoxious and vulgar but in Mike’s case he is quiet, reserved and easily sympathized with. The fact is, lawfully it shouldn’t matter and even if he was poorly behaved, a pile of crude drawings shouldn’t be what anyone is targeted and prosecuted for. Not long ago a terrorist attack was committed against an office who produced a blasphemous comic strip. The reaction was heightened but the reasoning behind the attack was still solely based on an attempt to censor artists. These conversations are very important and this documentary and it’s final conclusion highlight exactly how important freedom of expression is.
The Verdict
Frank Henenlotter latches onto his weird niche activism again in this excellent documentary. He keeps it tight and to the point with animated and dubbed examples of Mike’s art to prevent any sugar coating of the evidence against him. Of course these narrated read throughs also spice up the whole presentation. The excellent narration by punk legend Jello Biafra is the perfect fit for the controversial subject matter. The only thing unfortunate about Frank Henenlotter’s movies is that there aren’t more of them! That’s the real crime here! I sentence him to make more films!
