BASKET CASE The Arrow Blu Review

Review by Roger Carpenter

It sometimes infuriates me that the same movies keep getting re-released over and over every few years.  If you’ve been a movie fan since the 1980’s, like I have, you have probably experienced the same frustrations.  First VHS, and the argument between VHS and Beta, which may have necessitated purchasing a film in both versions.  Then hardcore fans may have transitioned to Laserdisc.  DVD then became the way to go but was followed by HD DVD and Blu-Ray. It’s entirely possible to own the same film in multiple formats, and sometimes the same film in the same format because you want certain special features.  It seems I am constantly upgrading to the next version, which promises the best available.  I know, I know…it’s mostly just a marketing ploy to get you to part with your hard-earned cash.  20^th anniversary discs, 25^th anniversary discs, 30^th anniversary discs, each with a couple of extra features that I really want to see…it’s just never ending.

Then along comes Arrow Video USA and their re-releases of films I already own in multiple formats.  Why do I need yet another copy of Basket Case?  Well, the first reason is because I’m ill.  Admitting you have a problem is the first step in resolving that problem, right?  So I know I have a problem.  I’m addicted to special features and special editions.  There.  I said it.  Maybe this is the first step in curing my ridiculous need to own the latest and greatest versions of classic (and many not-so-classic) movies on Blu-Ray.

But honestly, this is, hands down, the best version of the film to own.  I know.  I think I own every version.  Trust me….

For those readers who may have existed under a rock over the last four decades—or, perhaps in a wicker basket, hiding yourselves from civilization—Basket Case is a zero-budget (okay, $35,000, but that’s pretty close to zero), Z-grade, grindhouse film.  Most films that played the grindhouses of yesteryear didn’t intend on playing grindhouses; it’s just where they ended up.  But Basket Case, by writer/director Frank Henenlotter, was intentionally made as a grindhouse film that would play in the grindhouses of 1980’s Time Square.  In fact, that was Henenlotter’s only expectation for the film.  His dream was to see his film up in lights at one of the theaters that he frequented throughout his youth.  So he intentionally went about designing and creating the most outrageous, disgusting, hilarious film he could put together in homage to all the outrageous, disgusting, hilarious films he’d cut his teeth on in Times Square.

Basket Case is the story of Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck), a painfully shy and naïve youth with an unfortunate problem.  He was born as a Siamese twin.  But his twin didn’t fully develop and was simply a blob of flesh with a distorted face and two claws that grew out of Duane’s torso.  His parents were horrified and so, during Duane’s youth, they hired some sleazy doctors to perform a horrific surgery to remove this living monstrosity, named Belial, from Duane’s side, thus allowing Duane to live a normal life.  With total disregard towards Belial, the doctors wrapped him in a plastic bag and summarily dumped him in the trash where he was rescued later in the evening by Duane.  The two brothers eventually escape the Hell of suburbia to enter a different Hell—that of the Big Apple’s 42^nd Street.  Here Duane meets a pretty young girl and both experience their first true romance. But Belial, who vicariously lives Duane’s experiences thanks to the mysterious psychic abilities some twins share, becomes jealous of Duane.  Fearing Duane’s departure, Belial goes on the attack to ensure the two will never be separated.

It always amazes me what filmmakers with no money but plenty of zeal can create.  Henenlotter, along with some very loyal friends, were able to create a film that is more—much, much more—than the sum of its parts.  The actors all look like slimy denizens of the Times Square area.  And, while many of the extras actually were drug addicts, hookers, and the homeless, the primary character actors are so extraordinary the viewer can’t tell actor from extra.  The characters are played larger-than-life and, for the most part, deadly serious, with the result being a kind of overblown cartoonishness straight out of Looney Tunes.  But if you watch closely, each actor is playing a part, and they are all very good, which points to their theatrical background.

The sets all look authentically 1970’s New York.  You often hear the old cliché about needing to take a shower after watching certain films.  This is absolutely true of Basket Case.  Filmed at a time when the Big Apple was rotten to the core, Henenlotter uses both authentic, crumbling theaters and tenements as well as cheaply designed sets to depict the rot of NYC.  While the sets were cheap out of absolute necessity, it actually worked well for Henenlotter and crew.  When watching the film one can’t help but wonder how every single person in the film isn’t dead of some horrible disease like typhoid.

The effects are primitive but very bloody.  And while the film might only garner an R-rating in 2018, this was 1981.  Henenlotter knew the MPAA would slice the film to pieces so he didn’t even attempt to obtain a rating.  Basket Case was released unrated and with a warning about the graphic violence.  But even the violence is cartoonish.  For example, when Belial attacks one man, the blood sprays in fountains for so long you might think the pump broke and the effects crew couldn’t get the pump to stop.  In another hilarious sequence, Belial mashes one character’s face into a drawer full of scalpels. When the character raises up, a half-dozen scalpels are protruding from her face…never mind they were all lying flat in a drawer.  Bloody and violent, yes.  Realistic?  Absolutely not.

The film quickly became a cult hit and midnight movie staple and was one of the fastest-selling titles on VHS when it was released at the bargain price of $19.99 in the early 1980’s.  And Henenlotter has gone on to make other cult films such as Brain Damage, Frankenhooker, and Bad Biology while also continuing the saga of Duane and Belial through two sequels.

So the movie is a bonafide classic of the genre. But again, why do you need yet another copy of this terrific film?  First off, this is likely the best picture and sound you will ever hear for the film.  This is because the Museum of Modern Art—let that sink in—has recognized the film as historically and aesthetically important enough to preserve it.  This is a brand new 4K restoration of both picture and sound, so it looks and sounds about as good as it ever will.  God bless MoMA.

Yet another reason to pick up this particular release is the nearly nine hours of special features on this disc.  Nine hours.  Just let that sink in, too.  All of the important features have been ported over from an earlier Blu release and many new features have been added.  There are two audio commentaries.  One is an archival commentary featuring Henenlotter, producer Edgar Ievens, co-star Beverly Bonner, and others.  The second is a brand-new commentary featuring Hennenlotter and Van Hentenryck.  There is also a 78-minute making-of documentary entitled “What’s in the Basket?”  But there are just tons of other features covering nearly every aspect of the film such as interviews with the main stars and crew members of the film, a feature discussing the importance of Joe Bob Briggs and the success of the film, a cast and crew interview after the MoMA premiere of the film, and several fun shorts centering around the Basket Case mythos.  There are also around a half-dozen image galleries as well as multiple theatrical, television and radio spots for the film.  In fact, the only real criticism I have with all of these features is the filmmakers end up telling some of the same stories three or four times.  I mean, after multiple audio commentaries, multiple interviews, and nearly 40 years, they can only remember so much.

But of all the special features, the real gem is a 30-minute film short directed by Henenlotter and featuring many of the same cast and crew from Basket Case.  Shot in 1976, the film short was intended as a parody of the 1930’s and 40’s roadshow films like Mom and Dad.  Called Slash of the Knife, I will not ruin this lovely surprise by summarizing the plot.  Let’s just say it’s not what you think it is based upon the title.  The short comes with an audio commentary, outtakes and an image gallery as well.  These last featurettes are worth the price of admission alone, never mind the plethora of other extras and the restored MoMA version of the film.

So do you really need one more version of this film?  Yes!  Rid yourself of all other copies as this version has the final say in the Basket Case saga.  You can purchase the film directly from Arrow Video at http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/category/usa/ or from Amazon.