Basket Case 2

I'm sure Frank Henenlotter was as surprised as anyone with the fervoured reaction to his low budget schlocker 'Basket Case' at its peak. Even more surprising would have been the demand to make a sequel, but no doubt to get hold of financing for other projects the inevitable would happen and 'Basket Case 2' would head our way.

I was always curious as to how he could possibly follow his original schlocker up, more so when you take the first films finale into consideration - well, you're under the impression that our anti-heroes have died, but not so and 'Basket Case 2' confidently kicks off from where the first film ends...

The story opens with the media frenzy reporting the discovery of separated Siamese brothers 'normal' Duane and deformed dwarf Belial following their struggle and fall from the first films finale. Watching the reports is kindly soul Granny Ruth and her teenage granddaughter ho run a sanctuary for similarly luckless so-called freaks of nature. Full of concern for the brothers plight, she decides to invite our unfortunate heroes into her home where they should feel at rest with their like-minded 'special' friends. Things though are destined to awry (well there would be no movie otherwise), and soon do when a tabloid reporter decides that the Bradley boys have gone unreported for too long and with some equally unscrupulous lackeys she seeks to track the boys down...

Whilst perhaps not as out and out demented as it's first instalment, 'Basket Case 2' is a fine sequel and carries on many of the originals perverse themes with a wicked slant on the proceedings perspective. This time round the film is played with Duane (the accepted 'normal' one in the first film) being placed as the outsider in this scenario, surrounding by a varied selection of human deformities of all shapes and sizes (and obviously with a bit more budget to splash around a gallery of grotesque effect masks for the cast involved). Whilst in the first instalment it was Duane who maintained the love interest, this time it's wee Belial who hooks up with a similarly deformed dwarf for some love interest which leads to perversely humorous scenes of wanton lust between said characters (in fact Belial has greater success with ladies than his hapless brother ever does!)

Henenlotter does a very fine job indeed with this underrated sequel. Whilst the luxury of a slightly better budget than the original helps with the films production quality, it's Henenlotter's obvious love for his flagship characters that ensures he delivers another great slice of schlocko fun. A large amount of the films atmosphere owes more to the classic film 'Freaks' than to the previous instalments low life feel and hence has a very dark and brooding atmosphere that the previous film lacked also. Not that I don't love the first film (it's without a genre classic) but 'Basket Case 2' takes the series to an enjoyable new level.

The disc from Synergy is a lot better than I had been led to expect by some circles. The original full screen image quality is very good indeed with a sharp image and strong colours throughout, and the 2.0 audio is respectable also - clear and sharp, though there's not much audio-wise to get your speakers going in the first place anyway! Anyone familiar with the Synergy line will know exactly what to expect on the extras front also, that is nothing in particular but their standard selection of 'showcase' trailers - this is not a bad thing though, as these include the trailers for both Basket Case 2 & 3, as well as other genre faves including Frankenhooker and Maniac Cop!

So, a very worthwhile and enjoyable sequel (hey, any Henelotter fan worth their salt will want all three Basket Case movies in their collection anyway!) and a solid disc from Synergy. Check it out!

Review by Alan Simpson