Review of Basket Case (1982) by John A — 13 Jul 2014
One of the final 42nd St. "roughies" of the early eighties walks the line between brilliant parable and zero budget crap-fest. Hennenlotter is twisted and resorseful enough to create a scary and original character from play-doh and place him into a very interesting tale of sibling ribalry and post abortion revenge.
Gorey, grainy, and insane. Interestingly, this film was released 6 months before E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Both films feature (1)A main character with a relationship and psychic connection to an undersized mushy latex creature.
(2) A scene where the main character carries his creature in some sort of basket. (wicker basket and milk crate on front of bike) (3) A scene of intoxication that connects the two characters. (4) A scene where the creature builds a device from household items (one to phone home, the other to kill Dad) (5)And even a moment where the main character flys thanks to assistance from the creature.
There are more things that connect these Doppelgangers, and you can read about them in my upcoming coffee table book GRINDHOUSE TO HOLLYWOOD; How The Studios Rip Off The Independent!
This review of Basket Case (1982) was written by John A on 13 Jul 2014.
Basket Case has generally received positive reviews.
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