Basket Case

4K restoration! What’s in the basket? The debut gutter-trash symphony from Frank Henenlotter (Brain Damage, Frankenhooker), stealthily filmed in the toilet bowls of Times Square and chock-full of demented fury. Hilarious, disgusting, and over-the-top in every way possible, this movie plays out like Herschell Gordon Lewis directing Freaks on the set of Taxi Driver. A true homemade classick.

Duane and his brother Belial are ex-siamese twins who arrive in New York with a purpose — Revenge! Against everyone! That’s enough to propel any movie, but here the deal is even sweeter because Belial is a telepathic monstrosity who lives in a wicker basket. BASKET CASE features an incredibly grotesque monster puppet that will burn its essence on the surface of your brain until the day you die. It’s also filled with real-life 42nd Street sleazers, stop-motion shocks and non-stop sicko fun.

Restoration courtesy of Arrow Films and the American Genre Film Archive.

BASKET CASE is part of our series “Video Nasties: An UnCensored Selection”– including four outrageous, low-budget, over-the-top violent horror and exploitation movies, playing in anticipation of the June 11 opening of Censor, one of our favorite horror films of the year.

“This film is SO much fun and watching it in a
cinema with an audience makes it EVEN MORE fun! Shot on 16mm, the performances
are larger than life and very entertaining. If I could give a film an award for
most fun extras (supporting cast), I would give it to BASKET CASE. I heartily
recommend that you come and find out “What’s in the basket?” — Censor director, Prano Bailey-Bond