Basket Case (film)
| Basket Case | |
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| Directed by | Frank Henenlotter |
| Produced by | Edgar Levins |
| Written by | Frank Henenlotter |
| Starring | Kevin Van Hentenryck Terri Susan Smith Beverly Bonner |
| Music by | Gus Russo |
| Distributed by | Analysis Film Releasing Corporation |
| Release date(s) | April, 1982[1] |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35,000 |
Basket Case is an American horror film, written and directed by Frank Henenlotter, that was released in 1982. It has two sequels, Basket Case 2 (1990) and Basket Case 3: The Progeny (1991) by the same director. It is notable for its low budget and over-the-top violence. The film gained an audience in the 1980s due to the advent of home video.
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[edit] Plot
Naïve Duane Bradley (Henenlotter regular Kevin Van Hentenryck) arrives in New York City carrying a basket containing his monstrous parasitic half-aborted twin, Belial, who is so inhumanly malformed that the few people who know of his existence doubt he can even be considered a human. After their mother died giving birth to them, the conjoined twins' father loathed the sight of them and referred to them simply as "the child and the monster". Embittered by the death of his beloved wife, he turns to three doctors who are his last hope of separating the twins, so that Duane can have a normal life, and hoping that Belial would die. Surviving the operation, the twosome track down and murder the three doctors responsible for separating them. It is shown that they have a telepathic ability between them, allowing Belial to communicate with Duane. After separating, Duane meets a girl named Casey (Beverly Bonner), a hooker who lives in the Hotel Broslin. He also meets Sharon (Terri Susan Smith) and they start a relationship. One night Duane has a nightmare that Belial will eventually rape or hurt Sharon (which he eventually does). When Duane arrives at her apartment, she's dead, thanks to Belial. An angry Duane picks Belial up and runs back to his hotel. As everyone hears his screams and anger, they come to his hotel room. There he threatens his brother Belial. An angry Belial and Duane struggle and both fall out the window. Hanging from the hotel railing, they look at each other and then fall.
[edit] Cast
- Kevin Van Hentenryck as Duane Bradley
- Terri Susan Smith as Sharon
- Beverly Bonner as Casey
- Robert Vogel as Hotel manager
- Diana Browne as Dr. Judith Kutter
- Lloyd Pace as Dr. Harold Needleman
- Bill Freeman as Dr. Julius Lifflander
- Joe Clarke as Brian 'Mickey' O'Donovan
- Ruth Neuman as Aunt
- Richard Pierce as Duane's Father
- Sean McCabe as Young Duane
- Dorothy Strongin as Josephine
- Ilze Balodis as Social Worker
- Kerry Buff as Detective
- Tom Robinson as Thief in Theater[2]
[edit] Special effects
The special effects for Belial consist largely of a puppet in some scenes and stop motion in others. When Belial's hand is seen attacking his victims, it is really a glove worn by Henenlotter. The full size Belial puppet is also seen in the scenes where Belial is seen with an actor or where his eyes glow red. The Belial rampage sequence used stop motion animation.[3]
[edit] X-files
The X-Files copied this film's story for a season 2 episode.
[edit] Release
Basket Case was released theatrically in the United States by Analysis Film Releasing Corporation beginning in April 1982.[4] It played as a midnight movie for several years after this.
The film was first released on DVD in the United States by Image Entertainment in 1998.[5] This version is currently out of print. The film was re-released on special edition DVD by Something Weird Video in 2001.[6]
It was released on Blu-ray September 27, 2011.
It is currently available for instant streaming on Netflix.
[edit] Reception
Basket Case received fair ratings, earning 79% at Rotten Tomatoes out of 22 reviews.[7]
[edit] External links
- Basket Case at the Internet Movie Database
- Basket Case at AllRovi
- Basket Case @ www.hotelbroslin.com
[edit] References
- ^ Basket Case (1982) - Release dates
- ^ Basket Case (1982) - Full cast and crew
- ^ This info is provided in the segment "In Search of Hotel Broslin" in the special features of the Basket Case DVD
- ^ "Company Credits for Basket Case". imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083624/companycredits. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
- ^ "Basket Case". dvdempire.com. http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=3254. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ^ "Basket Case". somethingweird.com. http://www.somethingweird.com/cart.php?target=product&product_id=19108&substring=basket+case. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
- ^ Rotten Tomatoes
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