I had a pretty good time at Chiller Theater horror convention last weekend. We drove down for two days, mainly just to browse the vendor room, but one point that I made absolutely sure to do was to go say hello to Mr. Kevin Van Hentenryck, the main actor in the Basket Case films, and tell him how much I absolutely adore the films. The man is a sweetheart, one of the nicest people I've met at many of these cons. Of course, I saw this snazzy blue ray, steel case Basket Case Trilogy Blu Ray set on the table (pictured left), and I had to pick it up. I really had no clue that the films had even been released in Blu Ray, but Kevin was nice enough to throw in an extra autograph for me and pose for some pictures with me and the little Belial prop he had on the table. Maybe I'll get the pictures up here soon. This review is for the original Basket Case, though I'm sure I'll be watching the sequels in Blu Ray sometimes soon as well.
The story revolves around Duane Bradley, a young man who carries around a big mysterious basket wherever he goes, in this film it happens to be New York City. We soon find out what actually is in that basket. It turns out, Duane has a deformed brother named Belial who was born attached to Duanes side. Duane s father had the boys surgically removed against their will, and threw Belial out in the trash. Well, Duane goes out and retrieves Belial and vows to never leave him. So the poor deformed bugger was placed in a basket and Duane carries him around. What are they doing in New York City? Well, Duane is now a young man and he is there helping Belial seek revenge on the three doctors who separated them against their will as children. Turns out despite the fact that he appears to just be a blob with arms, Belial is actually quite a vicious and efficient killer. Quite an original, absurd simple plot mixed in with our typical 80's cheese makes for what is, in my opinion, one of the best low budget horror films ever made.
Everything about this film just works. The early opening scenes of Duane walking through New York City with the basket in tow just took me back to a time where I just wished I could have been a part of. I'm talking Times Square back in the day when it was littered with grindhouses and sex shops, a time where you could walk into any one of these theaters and watch tons of low budget sleeze, usually as a double feature. A time where low budget horror and exploitation just dominated the underground scene. When you walked into one of these theaters, Basket Case may very well have been one of the films you were about to see. Featuring typical low-grade acting and claymation that looks like it could have came right off of an amateur Youtube video, Basket Case just oozes with so much charm that it is practically impossible not to smile when watching it. While the plot is simple enough, there is actually a lot more depth than a lot of other similar films of the time. The film explores dimensions to Duane and Belial's relationship such as jealousy and perhaps even a bit of sibling rivalry. Just because Belial is pretty much a blob like monster, doesn't mean he doesn't crave the ladies just like his brother does. I'll leave it at that. If you are a fan of any kind of cult or exploitation, I really fail to see how this film could possibly not please you.
Directed by somewhat famed cult director Frank Henenlotter, this film took a tiny $35,000 budget and transformed it into what is easily one of the most memorable hunks of exploitative insanity from this golden era of cult madness. While the movie certainly has flaws much like any film of this sort has, I really can't give this film any higher praise for being what it is: a cult masterpiece. The film looks as good as it possibly can on this new Blu Ray transfer, which should give you even more of an incentive to check it out. If you're into weird, offensive, shlock, look no further. If you are new to this period of films, I suggest you start with Basket Case. You'll thank me later.
RATING:
**** 1/2 out of *****
The story revolves around Duane Bradley, a young man who carries around a big mysterious basket wherever he goes, in this film it happens to be New York City. We soon find out what actually is in that basket. It turns out, Duane has a deformed brother named Belial who was born attached to Duanes side. Duane s father had the boys surgically removed against their will, and threw Belial out in the trash. Well, Duane goes out and retrieves Belial and vows to never leave him. So the poor deformed bugger was placed in a basket and Duane carries him around. What are they doing in New York City? Well, Duane is now a young man and he is there helping Belial seek revenge on the three doctors who separated them against their will as children. Turns out despite the fact that he appears to just be a blob with arms, Belial is actually quite a vicious and efficient killer. Quite an original, absurd simple plot mixed in with our typical 80's cheese makes for what is, in my opinion, one of the best low budget horror films ever made.
Everything about this film just works. The early opening scenes of Duane walking through New York City with the basket in tow just took me back to a time where I just wished I could have been a part of. I'm talking Times Square back in the day when it was littered with grindhouses and sex shops, a time where you could walk into any one of these theaters and watch tons of low budget sleeze, usually as a double feature. A time where low budget horror and exploitation just dominated the underground scene. When you walked into one of these theaters, Basket Case may very well have been one of the films you were about to see. Featuring typical low-grade acting and claymation that looks like it could have came right off of an amateur Youtube video, Basket Case just oozes with so much charm that it is practically impossible not to smile when watching it. While the plot is simple enough, there is actually a lot more depth than a lot of other similar films of the time. The film explores dimensions to Duane and Belial's relationship such as jealousy and perhaps even a bit of sibling rivalry. Just because Belial is pretty much a blob like monster, doesn't mean he doesn't crave the ladies just like his brother does. I'll leave it at that. If you are a fan of any kind of cult or exploitation, I really fail to see how this film could possibly not please you.
Directed by somewhat famed cult director Frank Henenlotter, this film took a tiny $35,000 budget and transformed it into what is easily one of the most memorable hunks of exploitative insanity from this golden era of cult madness. While the movie certainly has flaws much like any film of this sort has, I really can't give this film any higher praise for being what it is: a cult masterpiece. The film looks as good as it possibly can on this new Blu Ray transfer, which should give you even more of an incentive to check it out. If you're into weird, offensive, shlock, look no further. If you are new to this period of films, I suggest you start with Basket Case. You'll thank me later.
RATING:
**** 1/2 out of *****