Basket Case 2

Belial and Duane are together again. Somehow they survived the heavy fall in the first episode. This time they get shelter in Granny Ruths place. She is a pro-freak-activist which helps and protects all of the "unique" creatures she can find. This time there are no doctors to mangle, but a bunch of evil journalists who are looking for fame by finding them. The rest is obvious. I liked this one just as much as the first one. The difference is that it´s a more humouristic and less scary sequel. It also has a twisted ending which makes it even more fun to watch. Enjoy!

Basket Case 2 (1990)

** (out of 4)

Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck) and his deformed brother managed to survive the ending of the previous film. After they escape their hospital room the duo are taken in by a woman (Annie Ross) who gives shelter to the deformed. Once at their new home the two try to settle in with other freaks but a pesky news woman (Judy Grafe) won't leave them alone.

BASKET CASE wasn't the greatest movie ever made but it contained a certain atmosphere and a certain look at the sleazy side of New York City that it was impossible to ignore. This sequel had a much bigger budget, is a lot less sleazy and has a completely different look but it's unique enough to where it's entertaining in its own way. Director Frank Henenlotter certainly doesn't like making "normal" movies and this one here has enough strangeness for two films.

Again, if you're expecting the look or feel of the original then it's best that you don't even bother with this sequel. What I enjoyed most is that they try to make this sequel pick up exactly where the original left off, which isn't something a lot of films try. I think for the most part it works but, again, it was impossible for them to get the look of the first film simply because times had changed by the time this was made. The deformed creatures here are also a lot different in that each of them has a terrific look, although none of them will be mistaken for humans. The special effects are excellent and you truly get some great imaginations at work with the creature design.

Performances are actually better than you'd expect with Van Hentenryck doing a very good job in the lead. Fans of DAWN OF THE DEAD will be happy to see David Emge playing Moon Face. BASKET CASE 2 features some pretty tame violence up until the ending, which I won't spoil but it packs a nice little punch.

My review was written in February 1990 after watching the movie at a Manhattan screening room.

Belated sequel to the 1982 cult horror film, "Basket Case 2' is a hilarious genre spoof. With its imaginative makeup effects and cockeyed point of view, pic stands a chance of attracting a wider audience than just diehard monster fans.

With only four films under his belt (including "Frankenhooker", shot before "Basket Case 2" but yet to be released), Frank Henenlotter shows considerable knowledge and affection for the horror genre. Here he's paying homage to Tod Browning's 1932 classic "Freaks", updated and modernized.

Effective and funny exposition (opening reel is a riot satirizing cliches such as the evening newscast) fills in the viewer on what happened in the first film: Siamese twins Kevin Van Hentenryck and Belial are nabbed on a murder rampage in Manhattan. Separated at the hip, Van Hentenryck is normal-looking except for a hideous scar and Belial is little more than a head with some gruesome flesh attached -carried around in a wicker basket by his brother.

Annie Ross as Granny Ruth is a crusader for the rights of "unique individuals' ' (i.e., freaks) and welcomes the brothers into her home in Staten Island. Weird menagerie of youngsters, mostly crazy variants on the Elephant Man by makeup whiz Gabe Bartalos, are treated very sympathetically at first, but as in Browning's film (which primarily utilized real sideshow freaks as well as actors Wallace Ford and Roscoe Ates), their potential for scaring the audience also is exploited.

Pic climaxes with Belial's ultraviolent attacks on foes of the freaks, namely tabloid reporter Kahryn Meisle, her shutterbug assistant Matt Mitler and cop Ted Sorel. En route is one of the oddest scenes in recent horror pics, Belial making love to Eve, a similarly grotesque Siamese twin whose better half, Heather Rattray, is not coincidentally Van Hentenryck's girlfriend. The Siamese Twins sex gambit was handled in extremely poor taste in the recent porno video "Joined" , but Henenlotter overcomes that inherent problem with a wild sense of humor.

Van Hentenryck, who's styled to resemble Dwayne Hickman's Dobie Gillis on screen, is effective as the self-divided hero and Rattray offers a strange beauty that builds suspense re: her hidden deformity. Wide-eyed Meisle is fun to hate as the exploitative journalist and Jason Evers (of "The Beast That Wouldn't Die") is a fun, nostalgic choice to play her editor.

Casting coup is Annie Ros, the legendary jazz singer of Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, who is a lot of fun as the demened granny who goads her freakish charges to fight back.

Tech credits are impressive down the line, demonstrating that an underground filmmaker can do with an ample budget.

This first sequel to the original "Basket Case" sees the return of Duane (Kevin VanHentenryck, who is in all of the Basket Case movies), and this flick introduces Annie Ross as Granny Ruth, who gives a memorable performance, and returns for "Basket Case 3: The Progeny". This second entry in the series is not as gory as the first at all, but it has better acting, more freaks, and a cheesy attempt at a love story between Duane and Susan (Heather Rattray). The freaks can get annoying at times, and at one scene, I quote my friend who said, "Now it's just a bunch of freaks running around". I recommend this only if you have seen the first "Basket Case", and it's not as entertaining as either BC1 or BC3, but still I'm glad to have it in my collection. Also, it has the sex scene nobody wanted.....Be warned! 7/10

Rated 18s for horror violence and some gore, language, sex?!, and brief mild nudity

Crazy & freeky sequel to the Basket case (82). By far inferior to the first part, basket case 2 looses control, as the balance of the film between being serious and (intentionally, i believe) rediculous is very fragile. Whatever the case, the entertainment value is very high - maybe thats due to that specific unbalanced element.

Basket case 3, on the other hand is really funnier, really gory in some scenes and delivers a fine result which pays tribute to the original's fame.