Basket Case 2

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.

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 is...well, it's something else. Joe Bob Briggs said "It's perfect!" and that was enough for me. I don't like it, but, at the same time, I don't hate it. It lacks the grittiness of the original Basket Case. The film is more polished but the sets aren't. They're clearly sets and the movie suffers for it. It lacks the realism that the first film depended on. The acting is better, Ted Sorel (From Beyond) is great. The movie is a just a bit too comedic for my tastes. The freaks are mostly stupid, but Belial still kicks ass though. He gets an upgrade in this film, from stopmotion to animatronics. All in all, the film still has that great stomach-turning quality, and the sex scene you never wanted to see. And it does have a great climax, the ending alone is worth watching the entire movie for. It just can't live up to the original.

Note for genre buffs: Two of the freaks include Ron Fazio (he was the second Toxic Avenger) and David Emge (Dawn of the Dead).

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

As far as sequels are concerned, this tongue-in-cheek horror/comedy from the original film's director Frank Henenlotter is pretty good. The film picks up right where the original leaves off, has a few characters from the original returning, and just like "Halloween 2" it resumes inside the hospital right after the events of the original film take place. The only problem is that, since so many years have passed since the original, the actors have obviously aged quite a bit so the idea that this is the actually occurring the very same night is a bit over the top but since the film is a comedy it really does not matter. Duane Bradley and his brother Belail are 'rescued' during an attempt to escape from the hospital by Granny Ruth and her grand daughter Susan. They then take refuge in Granny Ruth's house of 'freaks'. This is when things really begin to get strange. The make-up effects are really good and there is just the right amount of humor and horror combined in the design of the 'freaks' that it makes for a highly entertaining flick. Each resident takes on their own personality and even though they later turn murderous the viewer finds themselves not only sympathizing with Duane, his brother and the rest of the freaks, but you will actually find yourself rooting them on as they seek revenge against several reporters from a sleazy tabloid who threaten to expose the Bradleys as well as a sleazy old man who runs a 'freak show' and falsely claims to have captured Belail. The make-up effects and the murder sequences are quite bizarre but highly amusing. All in all this is an above average sequel that just seems to get stranger and stranger as it progresses but will have you both terrified and laughing uproariously.