Editorial Review:Product Description:Carrying a mysterious wicker basket around with him duane bradley arrives in manhatten. Whats in the basket? why duanes hideously misshapen siamese twin brother belial of course! duane has hit the big apple to wreak havoc on the surgeons who separated them. Studio: Image Entertainment Release Date: 07/17/2007 Run time: 91 minutes Rating: Nr
Amazon.com:Here's a sick little movie for you--a creepy-funny shocker that's become a semi-cult classic since its release in 1982. It's a cheesy, low-budget horror flick about a small-town geek who arrives in New York City's Times Square carrying his mutant, telepathic twin brother in a big basket (hence the movie's title, get it?). They were once Siamese twins, and now they're seeking gory revenge against the doctors who surgically separated them against their will! Talk about brotherly love! The 'normal' sibling has to keep his brother well- fed, and the basket-dweller's appetite runs the gamut from hamburgers to hookers. There's plenty of lowlife 'meat' to be found in the seedy motel where the brothers live. Not exactly mainstream fare, as you might already have guessed, but director Frank Henenlotter handles the gruesomeness with resourceful ingenuity. The movie even gathered enough horror-buff momentum to spawn two lesser sequels in 1990 and 1992, which is all the proof you need to add this dubious trilogy to the gross-out hall of fame.
--Jeff Shannon
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Basket Case Movie Review from The Massie Twins
The first five minutes of Basket Case will determine whether or not the film is for you. You'll either be laughing uncontrollably, or be terribly annoyed. And while neither act is what the director was aiming for, Basket Case's jokiness, bad dialogue, daffy characters, and bizarre violence makes it a cult classic among low-budget horror films. It is one of the rare trashy films that is so poorly constructed it provides above-average entertainment.
Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck) hides a horrifying secret - in a locked wicker basket that he constantly keeps at his side. Checking into a seedy hotel in Times Square, he plots a series of visits to various doctor's offices scattered around the city. As he visits each one, he unlocks the basket to allow a terrifyingly grotesque creature to scurry out, searching for addresses, paperwork, and brutally bloody revenge.
The mystery monstrosity in Duane's basket is no secret at all (given away by theatrical posters, DVD cover art and more) and is the remains of his Siamese twin brother Belial. A twisted lump of scar tissue, cartilage, and deformed flesh, Belial was removed by merciful doctors at the behest of their father, who hoped for a normal life for Duane. Not realizing that Belial could survive the torturous operation, and that Duane abhorred the separation, the duo remained conspiratorially in cohorts, growing up to plot revenge against the doctors involved. Communicating through telepathy and eager for blood, Belial is unleashed upon a city not ready for the horrors of this "Basket Case."
Basket Case is one of the pioneers of exploitation horror, complete with nudity, bloodshed, hilariously absurd dialogue, and silly creature effects. Low budget and not afraid to show it, the film tops its competitors of the day with memorable characters, an eerie story and the outlandish rubbery head of Belial. No character is normal in the film - everyone reeks of abnormalities, from eccentric behaviors and nonsensical dialogue, to extravagantly unpredictable actions.
To avoid showing Belial's obnoxiously unrealistic head studded with stubby, clawed hands, the camera oftentimes follows his point of view - close to the ground and with jerky movements. Flashbacks tell his tale, and plot holes abound. The unintentional laughs are hard to avoid as the screaming monster steals women's underwear, chows down on hamburgers, and leaves one of the doctors with a face full of scalpels. It's gruesome, gory, and way over-the-top; and so bad that it's good. There's time for an unlikely love story, moments for lines such as "you're cute when you slobber," and unabashed, awkward nudity. If unwarranted, uncensored cheesiness is your ticket to entertainment, Basket Case doesn't disappoint. And based on the fact that it inspired two sequels, director Frank Henenlotter's unique horror film is most certainly a cult classic.
- Mike Massie
Rating: 
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awesome
This is a classic B Rated movie. This movie is pretty funny and weird. If you like old cult classics this one is for you!
Rating: -
Pretty much a guilty pleasure for me
The movie opens up with a man being stalked in his own home. After dieing a somewhat gruesome death. We are introduced to Duane Bradley(Kevin VanHentenryck)who is carrying a basket and renting a hotel room. The basket has a wild surprise inside.
The Basket Case is a pretty good horror comedy with a revenge theme. If you take it a little bit serious, the revenge theme actually works out. I enjoyed the movie most when it revealed some background to the main characters. It gave the movie some life and made the plot a lot more reasonable.
I will admit that I didn't care too much for the death scenes. Honestly, I think they sucked. No real imagination whatsoever but I loved the comedy. I found myself laughing way too many times to even come close to disliking this movie. Despite the fact it's not scary in the slightest and the suspense factor is very low.
Too many laugh out loud moments for me plus the ending was good too. Even though I did enjoy this. I haven't watched the sequels and I never will. This movie did it for me but it didn't truely capture me. I don't care to ever see what happens next. I think this movie will mostly appeal to those who live and die by horror comedy. Don't even bother with this if your horror must be serious all the time.
Rating: -
Forget The Lotion! The Mutant's In The Basket!
The term "cult classic" is almost always used when someone talks about Basket Case. There is a reason for this. We goofballs that enjoy bizarre and wacky under-the-radar type horror and exploitation flicks are well aware of Frank Henenlotter's odd tale of separated Siamese twins gone berserk. Henenlotter is one of those directors who's also a hardcore fan of B cinema. He has his own company, Something Weird Video, that releases these black sheep of cinema. I don't even believe that if Henenlotter got a shot at big budget film making, that he'd even do it, or enjoy it.
Criticisms of Basket Case tend to target the quality of the FX, the acting and picture quality. Usually these criticisms come from mainstream folk who decided to feel adventurous and watch a "cult classic". But it's those very same targets that make the film beloved by the cult crowd. Budget doesn't hinder a movie like Basket Case, it enhances it, makes it more unique and entertaining. I'm not saying everyone should love Basket Case. After all it wouldn't exactly be a cult film if everyone did. But it is required reading for those into this sort of thing, and it's a wonderful example of a writer/director working independent from the studios and making the best of what he can with the meager amount of money he has. Hey, it worked for Romero, Hooper, Lewis, Craven and Cohen!
Basket Case is a movie inspired by dozens of B movies, therefore it's not taking itself seriously. It's not a full on comedy or campfest, but Henenlotter is winking at the audience. He is just having fun and allowing you to join in. Hopefully you do.
Rating: -
Belial the basketcase does the mattress mamboo
Siamese twin brothers; one that looks normal and one that resembles a piece of fake poo with a face and claws for hands. The stop-motion animation just adds to this schlock masterpiece in regards to the poor rating that one reviewer gave. I have to say i loved it. Salute to the great photography setting of hotel Broslin giving it a trashy creepy dirty look. Definitely in my top 50 of horror movies. Makes my top 10 of low budget horror trash films. Most memorable scene is when Belial the mutant twin has a go at it with his brothers love intrest while she sleeps and his brother telepathicly has a wet dream.
