So, funny thing: I did not intend to watch Basket Case. I have mentioned a couple times my HBO Max watchlist, where I usually get to stuff when it goes onto the “leaving soon” section. But I have others. My Apple TV+ watchlist is actually a compilation of movies from multiple streaming services, and I was actually looking to watch the slasher movie Prom Night. But then the movie started with a card saying it was preserved by the Museum of Modern Art. Kind of an odd thing to say before a slasher movie starring Jamie Lee Curtis in the middle of her Scream Queen phase. But then the movie started, and I saw it was Basket Case, another movie from my Watchlist set next to Prom Night. I figured I might as well finish it. I mean, anything that gets something taken off one of my lists instead of on it has to be a good thing.
Look, not every anecdote I open a review with has to be interesting.
In a lonely forest house, one Dr. Lifflander dies violently at the hands of, well, some unseen thing. People do tend to die when something rips a man’s face off. Not long after that, Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck) moves into a cheap New York City hotel with a large basket. He’s looking for people, namely a pair of doctors named Needleman and Kutter. And yes, these names are not subtle, but this is not a subtle movie. Anyway, Duane has a secret: inside the basket is his formerly conjoined twin brother Belial. Lifflander, Needleman, and Kutter were responsible for surgically separating the two brothers, and Belial, who looks like some sort of lumpy mass with a face and clawed hands, wants revenege.
However, there are other problems. While Duane is more than happy to help Belial get his revenge, he’d also like a life of his own, starting a tentative romance with Sharon (Terri Susan Smith), a receptionist for one of the targeted doctors. Those two are hitting it off rather well, but will Sharon continue to take it well when she finally lays eyes on Belial? Belial, meanwhile, doesn’t seem to want Duane to have a life of his own, and his temper can be a bit on the violent side. Can these two brothers both get what they want, or are they both doomed to a tragic end?
So, this looks like a movie that was made on a budget of about $50. Belial is obviously either a rubber puppet or some very clunky stop motion. None of the actors are recognizable to me at all. It’s just a low budget movie, but my god, the filmmakers here had a vision and stuck to it. I’ve seen low budget garbage in the past. Basket Case is not garbage. It’s a movie with something of a sense of humor about itself–Belial is a rather ridiculous-looking thing–and it has something of a story to tell. Belial is a monster, and Duane is aiding and abetting him.
Oddly enough, the two brothers were happiest when they were still conjoined according to a flashback. Duane may not want the doctors who did it killed like Belial does, but he’s not exactly an innocent bystander. Despite the budget, it’s clear the people responsible for Basket Case had a vision, some talent, and a story to tell. It’s weird, kinda funny, and apparently still exists thanks to an art museum. So, draw your own conclusions, but I’m glad I saw it.
Grade: B
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