Basket Case
1981
Something Weird Video DVD
I have been a fan of Frank Henenlotter since I saw Basket Case 2 and Frankenhooker late one night in the early 90s. Since then I have searched out all the movies he has made. This is his first film. I saw it quite a few years ago but never got the DVD. But when I heard that most of the Something Weird Video DVDs were going out of print I tracked a copy down. Got it for $10 I think. And it is worth 3 times that price.
A young man goes into a sleazy NYC hotel. He gets a room. And we noticed that he is carrying a big wicker basket with him. It seems his twin brother lives in the basket. When they were born the basket living twin,Belial,was attached at the torso to his twin brother. Well their father gets some doctors to operate and remove Belial. And they throw Belial out in the trash. But the normal looking brother,Duanne, hears Belial's psychic cries for help. He goes and gets him. And when Duanne gets older he wants revenge of the doctors that separated him from his brother.
We get to see Duanne tracking down all the doctors. And then Belial killing them. And there is some great FX. Belial looks like a flesh colored lump of playdough. All of the kills are nice and bloody. And I am really surprised at what they manage to do on what is a very small budget.
The DVD,like most from SMV,is loaded with extras. We get a commentary with Frank,the producer and one of the actresses. A couple of trailers and TV spots. Outtakes and behind the scenes footage from Frank's personal collection. "In search of the Hotel Broslin" video short. Which has Frank and RA the rugged man walking around NYC taking us the all the various filming locations. This would be a lot better if RA wasn't there. He is very annoying. A nice gallery of Basket Case poster art and behind the scenes pictures. Two radio spots advertising the film. And two radio interviews with the actress Terri Susan Smith. So as you can see this DVD is loaded with extras. I know that recently Blu Ray release has come out ,I haven't gotten it yet. But I hope it ports over all the extras. Basket Case gets a B+.