PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Frank Henenlotter is one sick individual. In any circle—besides that of the horror fan, natch— that would be an insult. But the guy who would eventually bring us weird shit like Frankenhooker, Bad Biology, and Brain Damage cut his (bloody) teeth with Basket Case, a revered slice of 42nd Street cinema. And what better time to revisit this cult classic than on its 40th birthday!
Basket Case Synopsis
A young man carrying a big basket that contains his extremely deformed, formerly conjoined twin brother seeks vengeance on the doctors who separated them against their will.
A timeless story of brotherly love, New York city sleaze, and revenge, Basket Case tells the tale of Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck: Catch of the Day) and his ill fated, formerly conjoined brother, Belial (also Van Hentenryck), and their quest for revenge on the doctors that separated them.
Along the way, they befriend helpful sex worker Casey (Beverly Bonner: Frankenhooker), and Duane’s eventual love interest, Dr. Needleman’s (Lloyd Pace) assistant, Sharon (Terri Susan Smith: Sundays). Things go downhill fast, starting with the murder of would-be-robber Brian (Joe Clarke: The Greatest American Hero) as the angry, jealous, and violent Belial goes on a murderous rampage.
Basket Case is widely considered a classic horror film for good reason. First and foremost is the balls out, don’t-give-a-fuck attitude of Henenlotter and his team. Nothing is too sleazy; nothing is too goofy; nothing is too gory; and nothing, absolutely nothing, is off limits!
Shot on the very cheap for around $35k in and around some of the 42nd Street theaters that it would ultimately play in, Basket Case is a interesting look into 1980s NYC, and the colorful characters that populated it. Innovative (seriously) stop motion animation combined with excellent and inventive practical effects make the film a touchstone for low budget features to come.
One gets the sense that Henenlotter just went in with an attitude that he could make the film he wanted to—budget and technology be damned.
Admittedly rough around the edges, the film has achieved even loftier status than it ever could have dreamed. It was selected and restored for preservation by the esteemed Museum of Modern Art in 2017, no small feat for the debut feature of an otherworldly writer/director.
Arrow Video released the 4K restoration, supervised by the MoMA in 2018, with a laundry list of every special feature you could hope for, eclipsing the 2011 Something Weird release (although I own both, as each has their charm). With the new transfer, you can almost smell the stale booze, piss and body odor at the Hotel Broslin!
The film would go one to spawn two sequels (1990’s Basket Case 2 and 1991’s Basket Case 3: The Progeny, with both with Henenlotter and Van Hentenryck returning), and remains to this day the quintessential midnight movie, and the “must rent” film of the golden age of VHS.
Henenlotter, of course, would go on to cement his place among horror fans as the Herschell Gordon Lewis of a new generation, and Basket Case is still widely regarded as a rare piece of cult classic 80s cinema.
Basket Case is available on Blu-ray from Arrow Video at fine retailers, and streaming from Tubi, Amazon and others.
