Basket Case

Director - Frank Henenlotter (Frankenhooker)
Starring - Kevin Van Tenetenryck (Catch of the Day), Terri Susan Smith, and Beverly Bonner (Bad Biology)
Release Date - 1982
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "The tenant in room 7 is very small, very twisted and very mad"
Format - BluRay (Basket Case Trilogy Steelbook)

Rating (out of 5):

     The horror genre really is beautiful when you sit back and look at it as a whole.  So many films have been made in this genre that are now considered classics that are getting placed on lists with films from all the other genres.  However, these so-called horror classics are beautiful masterpieces of film that steals the limelight from other horror classics that need to be seen but lacked the budgets of these more known films.  Movie fans outside of the genre has heard of what I call the "essential" horror films.  These films are The Exorcist, Amityville Horror, Carrie, the Universal monster movies, and several more.  As you can see, none of these are films with small budgets.  With that being said, there is smaller budgeted films that are required viewing for horror fans.  Films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead, Night of the Living Dead, and one I like to toss in there is the 1982 Frank Henenlotter film Basket Case.  This was a film that horror fans had told me for years to check out but I never really had a desire to check it out.  That changed once I found Frankenhooker on VHS.  As soon as I seen that film I had to check out his other work and I ordered the Something Weird DVD release of Basket Case.  After watching the movie I fell in love with it and watched it several more times until the DVD stopped working.  I check it out and it had no scratches so I had it resurfaced and it still didn't work.  I headed over to amazon.com and discovered that the film was the first film in a trilogy and the UK had a steelbook bluray release of the trilogy.  I had to order that bad ass mother fucker.  

     The film follows a young man named Duane (Tenetenryck) as he heads out into the New York City carrying a wicker basket.  He carries the basket with him everywhere he goes along with a huge wad of cash and a folder with blood smeared on it.  He visits a doctor in the city where he meets a young lady before visiting the doctor.  Duane knows the doctor but the doctor is not able to put a name to the face until he removes his shirt and reveals a scare running the entire length of his side.  Duane leaves and the doctor calls other doctors to tell them who just visited him.  We then learn that Duane was born a conjoined twin and his brother, Belial, was a grotesque thing that was on Duane's side and his Dad was ashamed of him.  He brought in three doctors and had Belial removed and thrown away for dead.  However, Duane and Belial shared a psychic link and Duane was able to find him.  Not long after that they killed their father and sworn vengeance on the three doctors who separated them.  As they start butchering doctors the two brothers start to bicker once Duane falls for the young lady he met at the doctor's office.  This leads to them fighting and trying kill each other.

     When people new to the genre asks me for recommendations I always throw Basket Case onto the list.  The film is truly a classic that shows you don't need a big budget to make a good movie.  It has everything the bigger budget horror flicks that are well known has with the exception of beautiful camera angles and well placed shots.  This is horror and we don't need that shit!  The acting in this film is great by the entire cast but my favorite roles are the ones by the supporting cast.  The cast is spot on so don't think I dislike the acting, but my favorite performances comes from Terri Susan Smith and Robert Vogel.  One is someone who lives in Duane's building and the other is the hotel manager.  Both steal every scene they are in and add a lot of unintentional humor.  The story for this one is one that I can honestly say I have never seen before.  Two conjoined twins get separated and seek revenge on those that did it.  The story is fun and unfolds smoothly on film.  That is one of the many reasons I recommend this one.  Finally, the film does have several gory scenes that reflect some great special effects but does lack the actual kill on screen.  To make up for it we are given a great creature an some solid stop motion animation.  Overall, Basket Case is an underrated horror classic that needs to be seen.  I can not stress that enough.  Check this out as soon as you can!