Review of "Basket Case" (1982) DVD

"What's in the basket?"

When I write a review for this site, I like to focus on genre films that are either unknown, overlooked or under appreciated. "Basket Case" qualifies in the under appreciated category.

"Basket Case" is a grotesque classic from director Frank Henenlotter. It's the fairy tale story of two brothers separated at age twelve, literally. You see, Duane and Belial Bradley are as close as two brothers can get - they're Siamese twins. But they're not quite identical. Belial is an angry, little mutant while Duane is a regular looking kid (except for the mutant protruding from his side). Their father hires a team of doctors to perform an operation to separate the brothers, hoping that Belial will die in the process. But the surgery only makes matters worse, now Belial is free to wreak havoc. Years later, the Bradley brothers travel to New York to find the doctors responsible...and rip their faces off.

"Basket Case" scores with originality. This plot concept has not been attempted before or after this movie. It's a fairly simple story of revenge. One brother is carrying the other around New York in a large wicker basket to find the doctors who separated them. That's the main idea. But there's more here than just revenge. There's a love story. Yes, I said a love story. But there's hate too. And that hatred could tear the brothers apart.

The film itself has a dirty, grainy quality that is highly reminiscent of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." In fact, everything about this movie is dirty, from the seedy Hotel Broslin to the streets of New York at night. It proves that you can do quite a lot with a little budget; you can tear people's faces off, create a gruesome stop-motion freak, and spawn two sequels.

There are some things I didn't like though. The acting for example. I can honestly say that no real actors were used in the filming of this flick. Most of the people in the film are just plain CRAZY. Kevin VanHentenryck (boy, what a name) stars as our "hero" Duane Bradley. He's subpar, yet believable in the role. He did do full frontal though so maybe that's how he got the part. I thought the scenes of Duane running nude through the city streets was totally unnecessary. For the ladies I suppose. The rest of the cast seems like people they found on the streets. While they're not classically trained actors and actresses, they do fit with the realism of movie.

I still enjoy the film's savageness and think it's a great addition to the horror genre. If you don't like "Basket Case", don't give up on old Frank. Check out his movie "Brain Damage" (and watch for the man with the wicker basket).

This DVD is loaded and boasts a new digital transfer. Special features include audio commentary with director Henenlotter, trailers, outtakes, behind the scenes footage, photo and art galleries, radio spots and interviews, and more. It's the ultimate in "Basket Case" goodness and it's fairly easy to find.