225) Basket Case (1982)

Halloween 2025’s rewind of terror ’80s horror movie thread extravaganza - the revenge! (Part three)

"What's in the basket?"

Director
Frank Henenlotter

Cast
Kevin Van Hentenryck - Duane Bradley
Beverly Bonner - Casey
Terri Susan Smith - Sharon
Lloyd Pace - Dr. Harold Needleman
Bill Freeman - Dr. Julius Lifflander
Diana Browne - Dr. Judith Kutte
Joe Clarke - Brian O'Donovan
Kerry Ruff - The Police Detective

Writers and directors generally make creature features with the expectation that audiences will suspend reality to whatever degree those same writers and directors want them to. 

For those who don't know anything, a "creature feature" is a subgenre of horror and science fiction in which a monster or some hideous other-worldly creature is the main antagonist. Anyways, creature features normally don't bother much (if at all) with things like logic and common sense. Often, writers and directors decide to let their "creativity" (for lack of a better word) go wild. They simply "go with it" so to say. All that matters are things like shock value, grotesqueries, and the actual creature featured.  

That's definitely true with the 1982 horror creature feature, "Basket Case," from director Frank Henenlotter. I mentioned him in my recent review of his 1988 movie, "Brain Damage." 

Like most other creature features that rely mostly on shock and gag-inducing imagery, "Basket Case" left me wondering, "what the hell did I just watch?" Actually, two questions. That, and "why am I doing this to myself? Don't I love me?" Ok, three! 

The movie starts with some quack doctor, Julius Lifflander (Bill Freeman) as he's being terrorized by an unseen evil inside his own house. 

Beliel!

Whatever this thing is, it's intelligent enough to cut his phoneline and shut off the power before it finishes him off in a pretty gnarly way.

The story shifts over to Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck) as he moves to New York City. He doesn't have much, but he carries around a large wicker basket with a lock. He looks like he's an unending quest for an open laundramat. 

Duane gets a crappy room in some dank and seedy hotel. One of his neighbors is this trashy street walker named Casey (Beverly Bonner) whom he befriends. 

Once he moves in, he has to feed whatever lives in this basket. He also talks to this thing all the time through telepathy. 

After one his neighbors, Brian O'Donovan (Joe Clarke) tries to break into Duane's apartment, Casey sees him in the act and warns Duane. He'd been peeking through Duane's keyhole after spotting him with a wad of cash. Brian, of course, will turn into a victim. That's pretty obvious. 

Later, Duane takes his basket to Dr. Harold Needleman's (Lloyd Pace) office for a consultation. He takes a liking to Needleman's receptionist, Sharon (Terri Susan Smith). The feeling seems to be reciprocal.

Needleman suspects Duane is involved in Lifflander's death from the beginning of the movie and tells fellow doctor, Judith Kutter (Diana Browne) about his suspicions. 

Later that night, Duane breaks into Needleman's office with his basket. He takes his mysterious creature out of that basket, which turns out to be his living grossly malformed once-conjoined twin brother, Belial. 

This brother of his kills Needleman mercilessly. 

When Duane and Sharon start getting close, Belial becomes immensely jealous and tries to take out anyone whom he sees as a threat to his brotherly relationship with Duane. 

Then gore ensures. Lots of it. 

This is one of the most quintessential creature-feature drive-in kind of horror flicks audiences would watch on a Friday night for an hour and a half just to absorb mindless horror entertainment and take their mind of reality for a little while.    

Kevin Van Hentenryke in "Basket Case."

"Basket Case" is one hell of a weird, messy, disgusting spectacle. It's a flakey cheese-fest of a horror movie that tries to make itself about the relationship between two brothers - one being murderous disgusting glob of tissue with arms, teeth and a face. But it's hard to appreciate that "touching" aspect because everything else is gore and horror. Oh, and there's screaming. Lots of screaming!

It's a trip, and I'd be lying if I said I hated it. I got exactly what I expected and had fun while watching.  

The acting is off-the-wall, and terrible. It's like watching a community playhouse put on a horror production. Honestly, who would watch "Basket Case" or any other monster flick for the acting? This movie goes from thriller to one big ripping, squirting movie. And the stop-motion special effects are hilarious. It looks like something from a first-year art or film school student. Wallace and Gromit have smoother stop-motion than this flick. 

What's crazier is that this trippy production somehow spawned two sequels - "Basket Case 2" (1990) and "Basket Case 3: The Progeny" (1991). Both sequels are directed by Frank Henenlotter. I'm curious about the audience members who wanted to find out what happens after the events in "Basket Case."

On the surface, "Basket Case" is a certified shlock-fest horror flick. Beneath that, it makes a respectable effort to tell a story of brotherhood. It's over-the-top in its delivery. 

It's a violent and gross experience for its own sake. In other words, it's very much a creature-feature of its time.