Basket Case backdrop
Basket Case poster

BASKET CASE

1982 US HMDB
April 2, 1982

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.

Cast

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Crew

Production: Arnold H. Bruck (Executive Producer)Tom Kaye (Executive Producer)Edgar Ievins (Producer)
Screenplay: Frank Henenlotter (Writer)
Music: Gus Russo (Original Music Composer)David Maswick (Music)
Cinematography: Bruce Torbet (Director of Photography)

REVIEWS (1)

Marco Castellini
Belial and Duane are Siamese twins whose bodies are joined at the side. While Duane appears almost like a "normal" being, Belial is a sort of monstrous and shapeless excrescence. For this reason, a team of surgeons, with rather orthodox methods, decides to separate them, then throwing the poor Belial's body into a garbage bin. Duane, however, is attached to his brother and decides to save him. Together, they devise a terrible revenge to punish the doctors who operated on them, but things degenerate... Directed by the specialist of B movies and low-budget productions Frank Henenlotter, "Basket Case" has become a sort of cult movie that boasts a good following of fans and can even boast two sequels. Shot in 16mm with a really meager budget, Henenlotter's film manages to skillfully mix ironic-sarcastic elements with pure horror (the sequence of the "division" of the two brothers is unforgettable for all lovers of splatter), without failing to address dramatic topics such as modern society's rejection of diversity. A true gem of independent horror cinema, unfortunately very hard to find in Italy.
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COMMUNITY REVIEWS (1)

Wuchak

Wuchak

6 /10

Gory and amusing horror about separated Siamese twins in New York City, one vengeful

A young man from upstate New York, Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck), travels to the seedy side of Manhattan with a mysterious wicker basket, looking for a couple of dubious doctors.

“Basket Case” (1982) is a very bloody ‘B’ horror with (mostly) low-key comedy that’s actually funny. The quaint low-budget effects consist of rubber puppetry & gloves with some stop-motion unapproved by Ray Harryhausen. Blonde Terri Susan Smith shines as Duane’s potential girlfriend, Sharon, while Beverly Bonner heartily rises to the challenge as Duane’s friendly next-door neighbor in hotel, Casey.

The flick is entertaining so I can see how it’s become a cult favorite, but the focus on the seedy side of Manhattan makes for a somewhat unpalatable experience. Yet it’s interesting going back in time to New York City in 1981. Some people lambaste “Basket Case” for being “amateurish” but, come on, it only cost $35,000, which would translate to about $100,000 today.

The film runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, and was shot in Manhattan with some stuff done in Glens Falls, New York.

GRADE: B-

Reviews provided by TMDB