A young man carrying a big basket that contains his extremely deformed Siamese-twin brother seeks vengeance on the doctors who separated them against their will.

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Van Hentenryck ...
Duane Bradley (as Kevin VanHentenryck)
Terri Susan Smith ...
Beverly Bonner ...
Robert Vogel ...
Hotel Manager
Diana Browne ...
Dr. Kutter
Lloyd Pace ...
Dr. Needleman
Bill Freeman ...
Dr. Lifflander
Joe Clarke ...
O'Donovan
Ruth Neuman ...
Duane's Aunt
Richard Pierce ...
Duane's Father
Sean McCabe ...
Young Duane
Dorothy Strongin ...
Josephine
Kerry Ruff ...
Detective
Ilze Balodis ...
Social Worker
Tom Robinson ...
Thief in Theater
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Storyline

Charming country bumpkin Duane Bradley takes a motel room in New York with a basket and a backpack. In a flash back-series we learn the basket contains his surgically removed Siamese twin who is not only physically deformed so badly the doctors hesitated to consider him a human, but is also the vindictive drive of their trip, with the purpose to kill off all those he blames. But in the reception of one of those doctors, Duane gets his first ever date, with the receptionist, and wants to start a positive life too - when the freak twin escapes, the scene is set for a grim finale. Written by KGF Vissers

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

The tenant in room 7 is very small, very twisted and very mad. See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Horror

Certificate:

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Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

2 April 1982 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

El Caso Del Canasto  »

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000 (estimated)
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Company Credits

Production Co:

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Technical Specs

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Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

To try to make the film appeal to a comedy crowd, the original distributor cut all the gore scenes out of the film. They were eventually put back in and re-released in theaters with the subtitle "The Full Uncut Version!". See more »

Goofs

When Duane is sleeping Belial opens his basket and looks at him, the basket lock latch disappears/reappears. See more »

Quotes

Casey: [In the Bar] There's something I've been dying to ask you. What's in the basket?
Duane Bradley: My brother.
Casey: Your brother!
Casey: [Duane and Casey both laugh] What is he, a midget?
Duane Bradley: No, we're twins. Siamese twins
Casey: That's funny, you don't look...
Casey, Duane Bradley: oriental!
Casey: [Duane and Casey both laugh] So what happened? Somebody shrink him?
Duane Bradley: No, he's deformed. A freak, he looks like a squashed octopus!
Duane Bradley: Our mother died giving birth to us. He was attached to my right side. They wouldn't let us go to school or anything. They kept us hidden. We ...
[...]
See more »

Crazy Credits

Since the crew only consisted of three or four people, many of the names in the credits are fictitious. See more »

Connections

Featured in Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Willie Robertson (2015) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

Possibly the ultimate grindhouse exploitation movie
13 October 2003 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

BASKET CASE is, for what it is, superb.

That's not to say it is technically proficient or boasts particularly good performances from its actors. But it's intelligent, creepy and viciously horrific.

A young man, Duane, enters a seedy Times Square motel carrying a large wicker basket. Inside the basket, as we soon discover, is his monstrously deformed Siamese twin brother, Belial. Belial looks like a twisted lump of fat and gristle, with two clawed arms and an eerily human-like face. He was, not so long ago, attached to his brother's side, until his father and some crooked surgeons decided to seperate the brothers against their will. Now the pair is in Manhattan, to do away with the doctors who performed the operation.

The very premise is as bizarre and sordid as one can imagine. And the movie doesn't disappoint. Everything is washed out with red and blue neon, every location is dirty and grungy, every character is twisted or crazed. The movie jerks the viewer's emotions around brutally, going from silly to grim to nightmarish to funny to horrifying to tragic. It may take the movie a little while to sink in. If you allow it to, it will leave you speechless.

BASKET CASE is a classic of exploitation cinema. It's as gruesome as any splatter movie and sleazy as any grindhouse porno, but it's far better written and crafted than most of its type. It's a nightmare not unlike David Lynch's ERASERHEAD, but with a more EC-comics feel. If a mixture of sleaze, extreme gore, expressionism and poetic justice are your cup of tea, don't pass up BASKET CASE!


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