Retail Price: $19.99

Reviewed by:

Charles Avinger on August 15, 2001

Duane Bradley arrives in a very seedy part of New York City carrying a large basket and a smoldering grudge. Duane is an apparently healthy, normal young man, but we soon learn that he was born with a small, deformed twin attached to his side. The little twin, Belial, looked...well, something like a genetically-modified head of cauliflower gone horribly wrong, but Duane loved him, and their grandmother took care of the boys. After grandma died, however, Duane's bitter father enlisted three cut-rate medics (one's a veterinarian!) to do a little home style dining-room-table surgery to separate the twins and get rid of Belial forever. Or so he thought...and now it seems the good doctors are going to have their licenses very permanently revoked by Duane and his vengeful twin...

Frank Henenlotter made Basket Case for roughly the price of a midsize car, and it shows. The film has the rough-edged look of Evil Dead, and a similar sense of humor as well. The film's wacky humor (courtesy of, among others, talented comedienne Beverly Bonner, playing the hooker Casey) makes up for the variable acting and nonexistent production values. Belial's onslaughts are as silly as they are bloody -- with no lower limbs, how would he get the leverage he'd need to attack? The fact that the film works effectively as both horror and comedy is a testament to Henenlotter's creativity. Duane is likeable even while he plots cold-blooded murder, and Belial is both frightening and, to use actress Terri Susan Smith's phrase, "charming" as well. In these respects, it's a classic monster story.

Made at a time when horror films placed a premium on gore, Basket Case delivers the goods. (One scene involving Belial and an unfortunate young woman actually caused Henenlotter's film crew to walk off the set in disgust!) A heavily-censored version circulated briefly in theaters and later on VHS, but happily this DVD is the full uncut version.

Over the years Basket Case has acquired a solid cult reputation. Incredibly, it spawned two sequels, which were technically more polished but lacked the original's shabby flair. Basket Case is not a film for everyone, and as much as I like it, I still put it in the "great trash" category. But if you're a fan of Henenlotter's work or, like me, have a special place in your heart for little ol' Belial, then you will be thrilled by this new DVD presentation.