Hilarious and absurd, Basket Case presents the heartwarming Hollywood convention of brotherly love in a new light. One of the brothers is a newly-removed parasitic twin with some separation issues.
Brilliant cult horror film about a young man and his basket... awesome creature effects, amusingly bad stop-motion animation that i can't help but love, surprisingly good, solid acting from the otherwise virginal cast (when it comes to film, anyway), excellent entertainment, Frank Henenlotter is a poor-man's genius director.
What's in the basket...is it easter eggs? What's in the basket...is it clothes? If you want to know you'll have to watch the movie. I will tell you that this is a cute little comedy with moments of erm "horror" that are far from scary or bloody, the allure here is the charming story and the actors involved. Also the fact that Henenlotter was at the helm (and it's actually his first picture) makes things extra campy and amusingly fun. The print is a little dark in places, but the gritty sort of feel is only enhanced by the late '70s/early '80s NYC backdrop which is extremely appealing and it too makes the film more interesting.
The actual story is about a lad named Dwayne who has a wad of cash and is carrying around a wicker basket with a lock on it. I won't say "what" but I will say that the "villian" in this movie is extremely laughable and cheesy and in no way is it frightening but still it's hilarious to see the not so special effects used to make the "villian" come to life. The colorful characters liven up the more talky parts of the film, but it was actually so well done (considering budget and stuff) that I'd definitely say it's a must see. I should also note that the two sequels are more of a parody and far more silly than this is, but worth a view as well.
i was somewhat disappointed. i thought it'd be a little more surreal and psychedelic. there was a large amount of blood. probably one of the bloodiest movies I've seen. basket case is perfect for midnight movie status. get ready to not feel clean while viewing because the film has a certain vibe that's completely disgusting. the brother in the basket disappointed me. he was a little too comical. i wanted him to be a bit more gruesome. the camera work is shoddy and the editing isn't the best, but basket case's hefty amount of bad acting unnecessary nudity, and blood make it perfect for jerks like me who like trashy films.
Watch it 3 times in a row the other night! Such a fantastic story and beautifully executed with a no name cast. Some crew members from this movie went on to work on The Toxic Avenger, Street Trash, I was a Teenage Zombie, and Slime City!!
One of the most disappointing films I watched in the 80s as a horror fan. It isn't much of a horror film at all and is much more like a comedy. The trouble is that I can't tell if the comedy is intentional or not. If it was supposed to be serious then it really failed abysmally.
This is a good example of what can be done with a little budget and a lot of creativity. Granted, the acting and editing aren't exactly "Citizen Kane", but what did you expect? The dialog matched with the over-the-top acting makes for an entertaining gore fest, and no one takes everything too seriously. However, the high points of the film are the murder scenes. Belial is nothing more than a body with soldiers who jumps out of his basket onto his victims and proceeds to rip their flesh to shreds. The gore is cheaply done but glorious nonetheless. As for Belial's movements, the effects director employed stop motion to do the trick, and seeing this little mutant scurry around the floor is a sight to behold. The creature effects are a mixture of stop motion, puppetry, and a guy in a suit. They're not exactly great, but are entertaining and innovative.
One of the reasons why this film is so enduring are the sets. For some of us later generation exploitation fans, we only hear about 42nd street through legend. The locations in the film really seem to capture the sleazy atmosphere of the Deuce effectively. Its not a perfect cult film. For one, the rape sequence is in bad taste, even for an exploitation film and really clashes with the light hearted tone up to that point. Still this is a film entirely deserving of its cult reputation
Mutant Head in a basket! this movie is creepy weird strange and just plain out there so its mostly what every good b horror movie should be and its one of my fav but you really must have a certain taste to watch this movie
...... a loving story of a boy.. and his seimese brother who was once connected but was mutated and the form of a mutated basketball and is put in a wicker basket and kills a bunch of people....
same old same old
Strange to the point of being offputting for those looking for more conventional horror fare, this low-rent creature feature's sleazy atmosphere, bloody kills and truly original monster will either be your incentive to watch it or to rent 'Turistas' instead. Van Hentenryck deserves special mention for his inspired performance as the nominally 'sane' half of the story's murderous duo.
Not bad for some good laughs and a fair amount of gore. But the monster was pretty hokey. This is the kind of movie you shut your brain off for, for awhile as you learn nothing, but almost assuredly will have a good time watching.
cute lil flick, well, that is if you can call a movie about siamese twins, one a deranged deformed, homicidal lil freak cute. beware of people walking the streets carrying padlocked wicker baskets!!!!!
i snuck out when i was 12 to see this and man it was crazy, but not the movie, just the experiance, luved the puke masks they gave out before it started, ..., u didnt need them. but a funny gimick
This was a low (low) budget independent horror flick. By today's standard the "creature" does look a little silly and puppet like rather than actually scary...but...for it's time - a jusstt little before Critters and Gremlins, and ET and all the little monsters of the 80s ...it was pretty durn scary and creepy. It's fun to watch it today though and still enjoyable for what it is - THOUGH..this gets very VERY twisted by the last two scenes and I highly (Highly) recommend that it is not viewed by anyone under the age of 18. I was not sure if to laugh (I did) be shocked (I was) or say "ewwwwwww"...(I did!).
Oh my god this movie is terrible. Hilariously terrible. It gets a 5 for the hilarity factor of almost breaking my ribs from laughing so hard. You can't beat that kind of entertainment.
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