Basket Case (1982)

A young man carrying a big basket that contains his extremely deformed Siamese-twin brother seeks vengeance on the doctors who separated them against their will.

Director:

Frank Henenlotter

Writer:

Frank Henenlotter

Stars:

Kevin Van Hentenryck, Terri Susan Smith, Beverly Bonner

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Van Hentenryck	...	Duane Bradley (as Kevin VanHentenryck)
Terri Susan Smith	...	Sharon
Beverly Bonner	...	Casey
Robert Vogel	...	Hotel Manager
Diana Browne	...	Dr. Kutter
Lloyd Pace	...	Dr. Needleman
Bill Freeman	...	Dr. Lifflander
Joe Clarke	...	O'Donovan
Ruth Neuman	...	Duane's Aunt
Richard Pierce	...	Duane's Father
Sean McCabe	...	Young Duane
Dorothy Strongin	...	Josephine
Kerry Ruff	...	Detective
Ilze Balodis	...	Social Worker
Tom Robinson	...	Thief in Theater

Storyline

Charming country bumpkin Duane Bradley takes a motel room in New York with a basket and a backpack. In a flash back-series we learn the basket contains his surgically removed Siamese twin who is not only physically deformed so badly the doctors hesitated to consider him a human, but is also the vindictive drive of their trip, with the purpose to kill off all those he blames. But in the reception of one of those doctors, Duane gets his first ever date, with the receptionist, and wants to start a positive life too - when the freak twin escapes, the scene is set for a grim finale.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | grindhouse film | psychotronic | grindhouse | cult director | 

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Taglines:

Its mother conceived it... You won't believe it...

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 April 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Basket Case (¿Dónde te escondes, hermano?)

Filming Locations:

Franklin Street, Tribeca, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Basket Case Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Duane checks into the Hotel Broslin, he takes out a wad of cash. According to director Frank Henenlotter, that money was the film's entire budget.

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Goofs

After Sharon is killed, you can see her clearly still breathing as she lies nude on the bed.

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Quotes

Josephine: Your brother? What is he? A midget?
Duane Bradley: No, he's deformed!

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Crazy Credits

Since the crew only consisted of three or four people, many of the names in the credits are fictitious.

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Alternate Versions

In the UK the film was originally cut for both cinema and by a further 35 secs for video by the censors who removed the following:

• The scene where Duane watches a kung-fu film is missing shots of 'chain-sticks' from the kung-fu film itself.
• The second doctor's death scene is missing a shot of him spitting blood as well as the climatic shot of blood splashing on his face.
• The death of the female vet shortens shots of Belial clawing her face, the terminating shot of the scene showing the vet with scalpels sticking in her face is deleted.
• Shots of the noisy neighbour being clawed to death by Belial are cut; this sequence was originally intercut with two other scenes making the editing at this point awful due to these cuts.
• The infamous scene where Belial 'romances' Duane's girlfriend is the worst to suffer cuts- after she wakes up the entire scene has been removed bar a brief shot of her being strangled. In addition the shot of Belial on top her dead body and Duane's attempts to pull him off her is missing. Its worth noting that apart from the opening scene every murder in the film was cut to some degree by the UK censors. The 1999 Tartan release finally saw the film passed fully uncut by the BBFC.

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Connections

Featured in Video Buck: Dónde te escondes, hermano (Basket Case) (2018)

User Reviews

Superior 80's rubbish

Frank Hennenlotter's "Basket Case" highlights the problem with horror films of today. Back in the eighties, films would be made with an idea and no budget, and the result would nearly always see the release of an inventive and interesting horror film. Basket Case is no exception to this, as despite hokey effects, a rather silly story and some very suspect acting; Basket Case is a trash classic all the way, and it's a film that's guaranteed to delight fans of horror. The story capitalises on the fact that many people (including yours truly) find the subject of deformity uncomfortable, and the subject of living with it even more so. The plot follows a strange young man that carries a basket around with him. Inside the basket lies his hideously deformed Siamese twin, and the deformity wants it's revenge!

This leads the two brothers to seek out the doctors that separated them and brutally butcher them, and delivering us with a great camp horror movie! The central creature - namely, the deformed brother, is a masterpiece of creature design. The thing itself looks ridiculous, but in spite of this it actually manages to be quite frightening, and once you've gotten over the initial giggles: it takes on a life of it's own, and even manages to become quite believable. The film is sufficiently gory, which will no doubt be good news for everyone that wants to see it. Frank Hennenlotter is one of those directors that obviously has talent and flair for making films, but also hasn't been given a real chance to realise it. It's a massive shame that the endless amounts of remakes continue to get released on huge budgets, while someone that could make a great movie is blessed only with chicken feed to make them with. Just wait until the part where the brothers' story is told – that's inventiveness for you! One thing I do love about the director is the way he casts his lead; the one here is certainly odd enough, in a naive loser sort of a way. On the whole; fans of intricate, deep cinema should stay well clear - while everyone else is preparing themselves for a damn good time!