Basket Case The Trilogy
I ordered the Second Sight Blu-ray in August 2020 and I'm finally getting around to it. Second Sight is a UK company but the set is region free and all 3 films have their own disc. I liked all three films with I first saw them.
Basket Case 1982 Written and directed by Frank Henelotter.
Kevin Van Hentenryck plays Duane Bradley, a young man who had a conjoined twin called Belial. They were separated when they were in their early teens, Belial survived and the twin went to live with their Aunt. She died and the twins set out to kill the doctors that separated them. There's three of them and Duane is successful in his endeavor but he creates a big mess and falls off a building.
There's a lot of mayhem and murder in the film, it's all balanced out by a good dose of humor. There's plenty of odd characters and 42nd Street plays a big part in the film. Not for everybody but I still like it after quite a few viewings.
Basket Case 2 1990 Written and directed by Frank Henelotter.
The story picks up with Duane and Belial in a hospital. They are rescued by a woman called Granny Ruth. She's got a nice big house and it's filled with a large number of deformed people. Belial finds a girlfriend while Duane thinks he should be allowed to go off and lead a normal life. He wants the one woman in the house who seems normal to go with him but Granny Ruth's granddaughter Susan isn't willing to leave the group.
Duane and Belial are wanted by the police for all the murders and things get dicey when a snoopy reporter and her photographer spot Duane in the house. The deformed people fight back and the snoopers come to a gory end. Duane gets nuttier and nuttier, especially when he nearly has sex with Susan. The movie ends with Duane killing Susan and then trying to sew Belial back on his body.
It's somewhat sillier than the first movie while still providing plenty of laughs and gooey content.
Basket Case 3 The Progeny 1991 Written by Frank Henenlotter and Robert Martin, directed by Frank Henenlotter.
Some time has past and Duane has been locked in a padded room in Granny Ruth's house. She finally lets him out as the group are going to take a road trip to visit her ex-husband Hal. Belial has gotten his girlfriend pregnant and she wants some help with the birth. Once they get to Hal's house things go downhill pretty quickly. Duane escapes the house and Belial attacks Hal. Duane gets arrested and the cops want the million dollar reward for for the capture of the brothers. Things go bad for the cops when they get involved, many of them die.
Even more gore and mayhem in this one. More laughs too.
It would be 17 years before Frank made another movie.
Bonus Features A mix of older extras from the US DVD and some new stuff. The commentary and the new docu were the most entertaining extras for me.
What's in the basket? A new 79 min docu with director Frank Henenlotter; actors Kevin VanHentenryck, Beverly Bonner, Annie Ross; producers Edgar Ievans and James Glickenhaus; make-up effects artists John Caglione Jr, Kevin Haney, Gabe Bartalos and writer Uncle Bob Martin.
Interview With Graham Humphreys A new interview with the artist who did the cover to the Second Sight Blu-ray set.
Everything below came from the US DVD:
Video introduction by Frank Henelotter
Audio commentary by director Frank Henenlotter, producer Edgar Ievins, and actress Beverly Bonner
Outtakes / Behind-The-Scenes
In Search Of The Hotel Broslin Frank and a pal wonder around New York looking at the places where they filmed the movie.
Trailers / Radio Spots
Photo Gallery: Behind-The-Scenes, Promotional Material, Stills
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