When you think of cheesy B-Horror from the 80's, several names may come to mind. If you know your shit, Frank Henenlotter should be one of those names. And if so, then, you should also be familiar with a movie called Basket Case, as well as its two sequels. Basket Case is nothing short of a masterpiece of 80's schlock. Frank Henenlotter's bread and butter. The film he is most known for, with the style which everything else he's done is inspired by. It's all about freaks with this guy. Their issues, and their struggles. Henenlotter has come up with some unique stories over the years. A parasite which gets people hooked on a psychedelic drug that it secretes into them, a Frankenstein put together by body parts from prostitutes, a woman with 7 clits whose sexual appetite becomes deadly. Yes. Frank Henenlotter definitely has an unusual imagination. But one thing all those fucked up stories have in common is that they can all be traced back to Basket Case.

Basket Case revolves around a young man named Duane Bradley, who has recently traveled from Glenn's Falls to New York City for a reason that is at first unknown. Duane walks down Times Square, searching for a hotel, and carrying a wicker basket. Duane stops at the first place he sees. The Hotel Broslin. A shitty little hotel with some sleazy characters hanging around, some of which may be insane. They try to interact with Duane, but don't get too far as he seems to be a bit guarded, and clearly wants to just keep to himself during his stay. But what's the deal with this basket? Whatever is in there, Duane is having conversations with it when in private, some of which take place telepathically. Whatever or whoever is in there, is in Duane's head. Duane and his friend in the basket seem to have a few common enemies in in the big city. Duane goes to pay some doctors a visit, tightly gripping his basket at all times. As Duane makes his intentions clear, it is revealed that in the basket is his monsterous brother, Belial, who was once connected to his side, and eventually removed by doctors in an illegal operation forced upon them by their father, who never recognized Belial as his son, or even as human. Ever since, the formerly siamese twins have not been okay, and now, they both have revenge on their minds. Belial more so than Duane.

However, Duane gets a little distracted from the plan when he meets a hot receptionist at one of the doctor's offices. One would think Duane wouldn't be stupid enough to go on a date with this chick who worked for the doctor that him and his brother just killed, but Duane hasn't had much luck with the ladies, and is pretty excited about this opportunity. Belial, however, isn't happy for his brother at all. And one day, when Duane is out with his new friend, Belial, who was left behind, goes balistic, tearing the place apart, letting Duane know that this is not okay. "If I can't get laid, neither can you". At first, Duane is patient with his freak brother, presumably out of guilt, but soon, Belial pushes it, and the two head down a road which may do irreparable damage to their relationship.

Henenlotter's first full-length feature. 1982's Basket Case feels more like a 70's Drive-In gore flick than anything. It's no wonder Something weird Video picked it up. It was made early enough in the decade to not come off all that 80's, although, the 80's cheese is still very much present, and the weirdness is nothing short of delicious. I'll admit, I'm a little biased when it comes to this movie, though. Basket Case is actually the first Horror film I remember watching in the mid-80's on a program on the USA Network called Saturday Nightmares. At the young age or 6 or 7, I was beyond fascinated by what I was seeing. Breaking my Horror-hymen with such a weird experience left me wanting more. More Horror, and especially more low-budget B-Horror. From the cheap keyboard, to the over-the-top, bad acting, to the cheap affects, to the shit film quality. In my opinion, Basket Case is THE B-Horror flick they should all be compared to. Thank you, Frank Henenlotter for making such a weird bad movie. My taste in the Horror genre wouldn't be the same without it. 10/10

Basket Case didn't really need a sequel. And going by the way it ended, one would assume it would be out of the question. But unfortunately, popularity almost always breeds sequels. If a Basket Case 2 happened two or three years later, that would be one thing. But Mr. Henenlotter didn't make this sequel until the early 90's. A time when B-Horror movies, and movies in general, were just different. That 70's/80's charm is long gone by now, and it ain't coming back. Basket Case 2 was actually my first taste of a 90's sequel to an 80's classic. And this experience would help mold my opinion of all 90's Horror. I hate 90's Horror, and Basket Case 2 is a big reason why. Although, I'd also like to give credit to Scream and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4, but that's a different storiy. The point is, Basket Case 2 is typical 90's B-Horror. Self aware, intentional weirdness over natural weirdness, and better in all the wrong ways. He should have left it alone.

With out going into any spoilers, let's just say that the culmination of the first movie left both Duane and Belial more than a little banged up. Possibly near death. The brothers are now in a hospital, and the future looks pretty bleak for them both. But we're soon introduced to a new character who is about to take this story in a completely different direction. "Granny Ruth", a friend of their late aunt who took them in after their father's death, heard about the brother's shenanigans on the news, and heads to the hospital to break them free from their bleak futures, and us from a decent sequel. When Duane and Belial awaken, they are made aware of their surroundings, and their new friend. And eventually, her friends. Granny Ruth has turned her home into a sanctuary for freaks, where Duane and Belial have been invited to stay and live in peace with their people. But Duane has other ideas. Convinced he's not one of THEM, Duane is ready to bail and go off and start a normal life. And he wants to take Ruth's granddaughter, Susan, with him, whom he claims to be in love with. Funny. It's kind of early in the movie for talk like that. This is literally their first one-on-one scene together, and already Duane's in love, again. Belial doesn't mind because he's got his own love interest, this time. A similar looking freak named Eve. Duane's plans are post poned when a reporter gets up in their business, and they band together to preserve their way of life, by any means necessary. However, this is all a distraction, as Duane's issues must eventually be addressed, as well as the brother's issues with eachother, which leads to one hell of a sweet ending.

Sweet ending aside, as well as the fact that it's not THAT bad of a movie, Basket Case 2 just didn't need to happen. We didn't need to be made aware of what became of Duane and Belial after the first movie. This sequel lacks every bit of the original magic, and focuses far less on the twin brothers. Henenlotter is playing the "freaks" card for everything it's worth with this one, and has abandoned the sleazy, inept charm which made the original so great. And I personally don't like this direction. The whole thing was a little goofy for my taste. The freaks were stupid. There! I said it. 5/10

And what could possibly be more unnecessary than Basket Case 2? That's right! A part 3 where Duane, Ruth, Belial and the gang hop in a school bus and take a road trip to Georgia. Yes! That fucking happened! More on that in a minute. Unfortunately, Basket Case 3 is very much Granny Ruth's movie. And we've now gone full blown Horror Comedy. It's been close to a year since the last movie. Duane is now insane. The culmination of Basket Case 2 has left him a bit damaged, and after doing something really, really bad, Granny Ruth now keeps him in a padded cell and a straight jacket. But soon, he's going to get himself a change of scenery. Ruth and the gang are planning a trip to visit Ruth's 11-armed son who is going to deliver Eve's litter. The son who inspired her "freak lifestyle" But anyway, yeah. Belial knocked up Eve, and is going to be a dad. While the freaks are nice enough to let Duane tag along, the straight jacket stays on, for now. And Belial still isn't speaking to him. Which is understandable, after the shit he pulled. At this point, Duane has one thing on his mind. Escaping. But after Duane gets picked up by the law, the hospitable South makes trouble for the freak family, and yet again, extreme measures must be taken to preserve their way of life.

While Basket Case 3 is clearly the most unnecessary one of the trilogy, it doesn't leave the bad taste in my mouth that the second one did. I can't help but compare the first sequel to the original. Yet, when I compare Basket Case 3 to the one that came before it, it doesn't seem so bad. So it couldn't possibly be a letdown. Although, it still sucks, obviously. Basket Case 3 was made soon after the second one. They do seem like one, long stupid movie. And I guess if that were the case, Basket Case 2 would be quite the epic, as stupid as it would still be. The final chapter of this trilogy does have a few entertaining moments, and isn't quite as bland as 2. Still very much worth checking out for anyone who likes weird, stupid movies with cartoonish violence and campy humor. The freaks add about as much humor as they did in the last movie. And Granny Ruth is getting pretty annoying by this point. The main reason to stick it out for the whole movie would be the scenes including Duane, and his attempts to break free from Granny Ruth and her freak family, and his unsuccessful attempts to outsmart the local law enforcement once he does. The freaks may be stupid, and Granny Ruth may be an annoying bitch, but Frank Henenlotter set out to make yet aother freak show, and that's exactly what he did. 4/10

I can't very well blame Henenlotter for milking his original creation just a little bit more, but he is capable of so much more than this. See Brain Damage for proof. The sad part is that Basket Case 3 would be his last movie for about 17 years, until he brought us that weird shit known as Bad Biology. The one about the seven clits. An improvement over the Basket Case sequels, for sure, but nowhere near as amazing as the original. Hopefully, Henenlotter isn't quite finished unleashing his unique brand of weirdness on us. I've even heard rumors that he might not even be done with the Basket Case series. As bad at the first two sequels were, I would still have high hopes if another one came to be. The woman who played Granny Ruth is long retired from acting, and Henenlotter would most likely try something different. Or something more like the original, which is probably what most of us would prefer. Only time will tell. I'm fine with whatever Frank ends up doing, but it would be nice for this series to go out on a higher note, and to get a chance to wash off that lingering 90's stench once and for all.