tisdag 22 september 2009

Basket case (1982)


So, Frank Henenlotters twisted little movie was made in 1982? It is now 2009 and my mind is contemplating the fact that I waited 27 fucking years to watch this lovely little piece of art! For that is exactly what it is. It's sick, violent, sleazy and just plain weird - in that special cozy way that we all like.

Dwayne Bradley is a naive and troubled young man who carries with him a large basket. He is newly arrived in New York and found himself a place to stay at a rather drab, scummy hotel. The reason for him being in NY? Well, his siamese twin brother, Belial, who was removed and discarded like a piece of tainted meat wants revenge. Dwayne carries Belial with him in the basket and tries to locate the doctors who performed the operation to seek bloody revenge.
It's as simple as that. Pure genius. The ultralowbudget works in the movies favour, making the locations more genuine than they would ever feel in a movie with a bigger budget. The acting tends to be a bit stiff and uneven, but this also seems to fit with the movies general ambience. Belial himself is an awesome creation and is so very clearly a piece of rubber but works both as a character and as a nasty monster. And the stopmotionscenes are hilarious. The only complaint I have is that this movie has a rumour of being very violent and gory and I felt I was let down in that. There are some really nasty scenes (especially the "lovemaking" one) but I was somehow expecting more. Or have all these years of watching violence on tv dulled my mind? Who cares? Watch the damn thing. Now I need to go out and fill the gaps in my Henenlotter library.

6 kommentarer:

  1. The only movie I've seen by Frank Henenlotter is this one, and it was ages ago - on a quite ugly vhs.

    I'm gonna buy some dvds soon I think :)

    SvaraRadera
  2. I watched Henenlotter's new movie (his return after 16 yrs) BAD BIOLOGY the other day and he's certainly not got into a boring rut since the last time we saw him. Still crazy as fuck.

    SvaraRadera
  3. BAD BIOLOGY was baaad! Nothing entertaining at all. The whole movie was a big waste of time. BUT, you can't love 'em all.

    SvaraRadera
  4. Your daily consumption of alcohol has begun to show its effect on your brain, Patrick. BAD BIOLOGY is VEERY entertaining! It's an oasis in that barren desert we call contemporary film.
    ;o)

    SvaraRadera
  5. I will buy this movie and settle this, once and for all..... ;)

    SvaraRadera
  6. Nice review! This was my first import video buy from Melodyline in -93 ... It's stayed with me since. And how rewarding since long to have it on dvd with commentary! This is the best Hennenlotter (not so many to choose from ;-) I highly recommend Brain Damage if you haven't seen it yet...

    SvaraRadera