Director – Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case, Frankenhooker)
Starring – Kevin Van Hentenryck (Basket Case, Catch of the Day), Annie Ross (Superman III, Witchery), and Beverly Bonner (Frankenhooker, Bad Biology)
Release Date – 1990
Rating – 3.5/5
Tagline – “We were cut apart…and NOW…We’re together again!”
Sequels often catch shit by the general public but horror sequels often catch more shit by horror fans because of their devotion. They immediately shit talk sequels and remakes the second they hear about them without listening to the details. This can clearly be seen by the backlash exploding on social media with the recent announcements of the all female cast for the new Ghostbustersreboot. I always give films a chance even sequels and remakes. Hell, I kinda dig em. If they suck I still have the originals to fall back on so what do we have to lose?
Recently, I watched the classic film Basket Case. The film should be required viewing for all horror fans. However, as much as I like the film I never knew that the flick had a sequel but the second I found out I had to order it. After watching the first film I had to follow it up with the sequel which really surprised me!
**Spoiler Alert**The film begins moments after the events of the first film. There is a city wide man-hunt for Duane and Belial after those three doctors are murdered. Duane is taken to the hospital for his injuries sustained from Belial. However, he is not there long before an old woman, Granny Ruth, arrives and takes both Duane and Belial back to her home. Granny Ruth actually runs a sanctuary for the deformed where her home is home to several deformed humans. She tries to take Belial and Duane in but Duane is reluctant.
Now that his brother has finished his task he feels no connection with him and wants to leave this world behind and start over. He meets a young lady who works for Granny Ruth that appears to be normal and he falls for her. She starts to have feelings for him and eventually the two hook up. After making love she tells Duane that she has been pregnant for 6 years and the baby refuses to leave. It now lives inside her like a chestbuster. Duane panics and accidentally kills her.
The other deformed people try to hunt Duane down but Duane has a moment of clarity and realizes that he will never be truly happy until him and his brother are conjoined again. He knocks Belial out and stitches him on to his side before Granny Ruth and her deformities find them.**Spoiler Alert**
Sequels are exciting to me because they continue a story that we know and love so I will never understand why people bitch and moan when a sequel or remake is announced. If they suck then just ignore them but if they rule we will have something new and amazing to watch. Basket Case 2 is a sequel I was not expecting but was very grateful for.
The first Basket Case was very straight forward and tried to be a serious horror movie in tone but did have some unintentional humor. However, Basket Case 2 is not as dark as the first film and goes the comedy route which really works well for the film and gives the fans of the first film something different to look forward to.
The acting in this film is even better than the first film which was not bad by any means. Kevin Van Hentenryck is very convincing at portraying a man that is unstable. His role is so convincing and he is so dedicated to the role that he is almost hard to watch and tries the viewers patience. The rest of the cast is great to watch and Annie Ross is amazing in her role. Her character is so bold and perfect that you forget she is not he main character.
The story for this one a funny take on the first film with more freaks and humor but less horror. I am completely fine with that because this film does what most campy creature features of the time tried to do and failed which is give the viewer a fun creature feature with plenty of monsters that does not suck. The story is able to pull the viewer in and hold their attention.
Finally, the film does not have any real on screen kills but is home to some great practical effects. We don’t get a lot of blood and gore but fuck do we get some amazing monsters and creatures. Well, technically they are not monsters but they look fucking fantastic. They have to be seen to be believed. Overall, Basket Case 2 a great sequel that lives up to the hype of the first films. It does go a different route and can easily be argued that it is not a horror film but the fact still remains that the film is good. I highly recommend this one!
