Basket Case 2
Tags: comedy, grindhouse film, murder, cult, violence, insanity, satire

Plot synopsis:
Duane Bradley (Kevin van Hentenryck) has survived to the fall from the condo where he used to live with his deformed brother. The newscaster (Judy Grafe) gives the description of handsome Duane but his brother is so ugly! Both lie at hospital, where the nurse feels disgusted. The nurse called Sherri (Alexandra Auder) doesn't realise that Duane has left his bed because she's so busy flirting with the police officer (Brian Fitzpatrick) at the door. Duane picks up his brother and they leave the hospital room killing the cop. The newswoman wants to talk to Duane and his brother Belial for five minutes, but another cop won't let her do so. Duane and his brother leave the building when two ladies appear with a truck lorry to help them out.At the ladies' home, Duane dreams with a whole family of deformed people. The ladies are Granny Ruth (Annie Ross), who is a kind of Duane's aunt 7 times removed, and Susan (Heather Rattray), her granddaughter. They put Belial in the nursery room. Ruth wants to give shelter and safety to him, saying that she heard everything about him from his mother, and that there are other like him. Ruth and Susan bring a basket so that Belial can live there. Apart from that, she tells him that as this is Ruth's home, they will have to live by her rules. They take Belal to the penthouse, where a crowd of Belial-like people are, among them Lorenzo, a tenor-voice huge head and mouth with almost no body to be seen. There, Belial meets Eve hidden under a blanket, who for a year wasn't able to talk to anybody, so maybe he can help to bring her out of her shell.Lou (Jason Evers) an editor, wants a journalist called Marcie Elly (Kathryn Meisle) to investigate where Duane and Belial are. Ruth goes to see a man who announces a monster, a mystery of the nature in a fair, but it's only a fake machier-paper home project. However, the journalist finds some alive person in a red liquid. Ruth works as a kind of psychiatrist for Belial, trying to convince him that "ripping faces off people is not in his best interest".Duane walks with a limp so he makes use of a walking stick. He sees deformed people doing things around the home, and he goes to talk to Susan in the kitchen, while she's organizing the groceries she's just bought. Duane remembers how his mother decided to separate Belial, attacked to his body, and left his brother for death.Duane feels that he's not like Belial or any of the other inhabitants of the home. Duane wants to talk to him. He discovers that Belial and Eve are caressing each other. He tells Belial that he wants to live free, join the outside world and leave him with Eve.Susan opens the door to the journalist called Marcie, who talks to Ruth. Duane enters, and the journalist recognises him, even though Ruth calls him "Michael". Duane won't leave until they are all safe at home. Ruth talks to "her children", urging them to fight.The photographer enters Ruth's. The monsters attack him... and take plenty of photos of him being killed. She tells her private detective friend Phil (Ted Sorel) about Duane. The detective later talks to Duane at Clarcy's Bar. All the monsters are at the bar, with masks, and as Duane states "we -Duane and the detective- are the freaks, the ones who don't belong here-". The detective runs away with a gun, but Belial kills him as he has killed the bartender.Up to now Susan, Ruth and Duane didn't know the name of the journalist, Marcie Elly, but now they know it because Belial took the wallet from the detective's pocket. Marcie is waiting for him. She was having a shower, and she starts receiving phonecalls, but nobody answers. Duane arrives to tell Marcie that Belial wants to give her an interview. All the monsters appear, but no Belial: he's not in his usual oblong basket. He jumps from the dirty clothes' basket at Mercie's bathroom. Belial doesn't kill Marcie, but causes her to become a freak with a disfigured face as well.The freaks are then seen celebrating a huge fraternity dinner together. Duane loves Susan, so he wants to leave with her. Susan tells him she's not normal. Meanwhile, Belial and Eve also kiss, they have passionate sex.Susan tells Duane her "particularity": she's been pregnant for the last six years, but the baby doesn't want to be born, so he'll stay at her womb until he decides to leave. Duane is so distraught that he pushes Susan out of the window, killing her. All the rest of the monsters go crazy, because Susan fell on top of their dinner table. Duane gets so distraught that he picks Belial up and sews him to his body again.

Review: This first sequel to the original "Basket Case" sees the return of Duane (Kevin VanHentenryck, who is in all of the Basket Case movies), and this flick introduces Annie Ross as Granny Ruth, who gives a memorable performance, and returns for "Basket Case 3: The Progeny".
This second entry in the series is not as gory as the first at all, but it has better acting, more freaks, and a cheesy attempt at a love story between Duane and Susan (Heather Rattray).
As far as sequels are concerned, this tongue-in-cheek horror/comedy from the original film's director Frank Henenlotter is pretty good.
The make-up effects are really good and there is just the right amount of humor and horror combined in the design of the 'freaks' that it makes for a highly entertaining flick.
Each resident takes on their own personality and even though they later turn murderous the viewer finds themselves not only sympathizing with Duane, his brother and the rest of the freaks, but you will actually find yourself rooting them on as they seek revenge against several reporters from a sleazy tabloid who threaten to expose the Bradleys as well as a sleazy old man who runs a 'freak show' and falsely claims to have captured Belail.
Duane and his deformed Siamese twin brother Belial survived the fall from their hotel window in the original, to wake up in a hospital.
To make matters worse is that their hideaway is put at risk a by reporter who is after a story about the twins.After being surprised by how good the original was, I was a bit disappointed with this sequel as it felt like a dumb down comic adventure.
So the freaks community been chased just for their "differences" from the mass seems to be a more intense and "intellectual" reading key for this movie, much more than you could have been thinking.Crazy and really good special effects, technically much better than the average low budget movie, funny plot: it's got much more than you could expect from a movie of this kind!I can't say if I prefer this one ore the next one, but sure this two are very different from the first Basket Case: here you will find true comedy painted in a gory way, but no suspense or thrills!.
Duane and his mutant brother Belial are back in this first sequel to the ever-classic tongue-in-cheek series.For this go-round, Duane and Belial escape from a hospital (after Belial makes sure a few of the staff members are missing their faces)and find refuge in the house of Granny Ruth (Annie Ross), who lives in a spacious house which cares for "differently abled"  um, "persons."  Some of the "people"  in Granny Ruth's house have animal like features, such as claws and gills (even Belial, in a masterfully done puppeteering and make-up venue, is simply a hideous head with evil eyes, very sharp teeth, and two arms with claw-like fingernails extending from the hands).Belial never really speaks.
Of course, director Hennenlotter probably intended this, sense it sets up room for another sequel."Basket Case 2"  is wicked fun!
The first "Basket Case" movie looked like it was made on a shoe-string budget.
Not in the least of course due to the later success and cult following the first movie received.Kevin Van Hentenryck is still as horrible as ever before in his acting but they cleverly resolved this by putting in way more characters this time, so the entire focus of the movie this time isn't just upon Duane and Belial.
It also lets Duane act more as a psycho this time, which also allows Van Hentenryck to do his bad overacting and make him get away with it.The story is of course silly but it also still is a notch up when compared to the first movie.
I really like the first Basket Case back in (1982), as it was very Gory also really funny, a lot of Funnow they are back again, this movie start of by showing, what happened at the end of The Basket Case, Soon start from the ending of the first movieThe twins are now main headline on the news , Granny Ruth and her Grandaugter are watching the news and know who these two are, as they rush to the hospital, Duane and Belial break out of the hospital after he killed one of the doctors.
Then Ruth hide them away from outside world, with her family, then they find out that, Beiial is not one of a kinda as there are others like him in her house, that she takes care of.Duane now feel like a normal person, wants to be a normal person and wants to leave but he ends up getting seen by the Reporter, now he has to stay, as he put the rest of the Freaks in danger, of being found out.This movie is not as Great, as the cult classic Basket Case (1982).
The film picks up right where the first one left of with Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck) being attacked by his mutant brother and falling out the window of his Times Square flophouse.
She brings the duo back to her mansion where she houses a variety of freaks.Frank Henenlotter's follow-up is obviously a bigger affair with a nice budget from James Glickenhaus, but this sequel fails to pack the sleazy punch of the first film.
if you've seen the first movie you basically know what to expect from this one...more revenge from the brothers bradley...but this time they are joined by a house full of new friends to help them!!very fun movie and worth a look for any horror fan!.
I have respect for any movie that can make you laugh, make you sick, make you a little nervous AND inspire concern all at the same time, especially considering it probably cost a total of 50 cents to produce, from the look of things.Everyone remembers how Duane's brother was a mutant lump cut off and left for dead in the garbage, then Duane tossed the whole mess in a basket and they became a homicidal tag-team.
The story continues with the brothers being rescued by an older lady and her daughter who run a home for outcast mutants, and the complications that follow.This film is a lot like Tod Browning's "Freaks"; it isn't "horror," really, the story is told from the point of view of the monsters, who are far more interesting and poignant than the evil people around them.
Oh yeah, the house is also chock full of dozens of friendly freaks, including a female version of Belial named Eve.This entry certainly has a much different feel than the original BASKET CASE, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
This time around, Duane and his deformed brother find shelter with "Granny Ruth", a woman who has dedicated her life to take care of those "freaks" that otherwise find no place in society.Just as with its predecessor, the movie focuses on the theme of social rejection and "trying to fit in".
Comparatively speaking, Duane and his brother play less of an important role this time, as the story branches out to include more characters and more "freaks".Go and watch it if you liked the first installment of the series..
Basket Case 2 take off right after the event of the first one and this time it way more disturbing and wacky than ever.The acting definitely improve a lot with characters like Bradley and the new comer Granny Ruth the owner of a mansion for freak people.The gore is more bloody and more fun than the first one.There many memorable scene like the brother talk which give me the creeps but the real showstealer is the last 10 minute of total WTF just happened moments?I enjoy this movie very much but still the way their handle Bradley emotion when he went from a chill dude to a more f*ck up version of his brother is just so wrong.
Overall, though, BASKET CASE 2, while not as memorable as its predecessor, is still a very entertaining flick that feels more horror than comedy, though there are some mildly humorous moments, but most of that is left to the third film.
If you liked the first film, you should find many things to enjoy with this very entertaining sequel..
oh yeah also Belial finds a freak that looks like him and they have some awkward stump bumping which becomes important for the 3rd film.
yes, it is a good film not amazing id say its an improvement on the original in a way as the violence is much better and the budget is much higher.
It just has to be seen to give it any justice, because those designs are hard to describe.Storywise then "Basket Case 2" was adequate, although I can't really say that I overly enjoyed the collection of freaks much, it just added a very silly comedy element to the movie.
The story is about Duane and Belial coming to seek refuse with Granny Ruth, after having escape hospitalization, where they join with a group of freakishly deformed creatures.
But news of their whereabouts and the possibility of exposing the freaks safe haven is looming around the corner.Kevin Van Hentenryck is back in the role as Duane, and does what he does, like it or not.I found "Basket Case 2" to be treading a slippery slope and it just took a turn for the worse and went in the wrong direction.
Basket Case 2 (1990) ** (out of 4)Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck) and his deformed brother managed to survive the ending of the previous film.
Once at their new home the two try to settle in with other freaks but a pesky news woman (Judy Grafe) won't leave them alone.BASKET CASE wasn't the greatest movie ever made but it contained a certain atmosphere and a certain look at the sleazy side of New York City that it was impossible to ignore.
This sequel had a much bigger budget, is a lot less sleazy and has a completely different look but it's unique enough to where it's entertaining in its own way.
Director Frank Henenlotter certainly doesn't like making "normal" movies and this one here has enough strangeness for two films.Again, if you're expecting the look or feel of the original then it's best that you don't even bother with this sequel.
What I enjoyed most is that they try to make this sequel pick up exactly where the original left off, which isn't something a lot of films try.
There, Belial and Duane get a ride from Granny Ruth (Annie Ross) and Susan (Heather Rattray) to their home, which is a house of other outlandishly deformed outcasts.
Turns out the first chance Duane finds love, he wants to sleep with the girl (just like the original film).
Even after Belial finds love, he continues to kill people (just like the original film).
And although the design of Belial has changed, he at least has better movement from before and doesn't howl at ear blistering decibels like the original movie.Robert M.
And because the effects look better, it doesn't seem as obvious that Belial was originally a puppet and now more like a live creature.
BASKET CASE 2 points towards being a successful sequel, featuring as it does a storyline that goes elsewhere instead of copying the first, but sadly come the ending you realise virtually nothing has happened of interest throughout.The problem with the movie isn't the ingredients, which are more than adequate, but the narrative.
Everyone's favourite surgically-separated Siamese-twins, Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck) and Belial, return for more freakish fun in Basket Case 2, in which the brothers escape from hospital (after their near fatal fall in the first film) and find sanctuary at the home of 'Granny Ruth' (Annie Ross), who runs a haven for the physically deformed.
Meanwhile, a reporter working for the gutter press is hoping for a major scoop by tracking down the brothers' whereabouts...Frank Henenlotter's sequel to his demented debut Basket Case once again displays a very unique vision and some incredibly dark humour, but made on a bigger budget, and away from the the original's 42nd Street locale, it lacks the trashiness, sleaziness and general grubbiness that gave the original film much of its charm.Also serving to weaken the film somewhat is the collection of grotesque freaks that reside at Granny Ruth's place, who include a buck-toothed, floppy eared creature, a frog-headed man, a living gargoyle, and one monstrosity with teeth as big as planks; these creations are inventive, but way too silly looking and childish in their mannerisms to be unsettling.Fortunately the positives outweigh the negatives: the cast pitch their performances perfectly, imbuing the film with just the right level of deranged lunacy; there are some inspired touches of twisted humour (gotta love the disabled badge on Granny Ruth's van and Belial's hilarious sex scene); and Henenlotter manages to deliver quite a few effectively macabre moments, my favourite bits being a meeting between Duane and a reporter in an Irish bar that doesn't go as planned for the newsman, a photographer's unexpected encounter with the freaks in Granny Ruth's attic, Duane coming face-to-face with a 'baby' that refuses to be born, and a suitably disturbing finale that sees the psychotic siblings joined together once again..
they are played more for chuckles and giggles than scares.SEMI-SPOILERS: This is a fun little movie about Belial and Dwayne (who didn't really die in the first one, rather ended up in the hospital) finding their way to a house of freaks, where they fit in.
He falls in love, as does Belial.Along the way they get entangled with a tabloid reporter who wants to expose this house of freaks.
i have yet to see the first but want to very soon this sequel was just plain bizarre but in a good way it had some neat effects hideous deformities this is well made on a low budget and surprisingly  pretty entertaining it has a bizarre love making scene with Duane's brother and another person it also has lots of funny dialog the acting is good Keith Van Hentenryck is great here as Duane loved his crazy performance near the end Annie Ross is very cool here i liked her a lot she can play a good crazy person too!
8 years after the original low-budget classic (better say class-sick!) Basket Case, Hennenlotter delivers a sequel less brutal and less gore but more absurd and imaginative.
Together with a jolly bunch of freaks, Duane fights vulture newspaper people and Belial even finds true love up in Ruth's attic Basket Case 2 is a sleazy and trashy romp that gives a totally new meaning to the expression "bad taste".
Meanwhile, Belial falls in love with a female freak such as himself as Duane falls in love with a seemingly normal young woman, who assists Ruth, named Susan(Heather Rattray).Henenlotter's oddball sequel to his cult hit is really designed for the kind of crowd with a twisted sense of humor, not an audience at large.
I did feel the ending takes things a bit too far, but it's more of a personal opinion..Duane's reaction to Susan's "flaw" and how he decides to "re-join" with his brother maybe pushes the limits of bad taste.
As a longtime fan of horror films any chance to see iconic figures return to the screen in a movie that is as good as the original is a great thing.
That isn't the case with BASKETCASE 2.The first film told the story of Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck) and his brother Belial.
Instead the pair have survived the fall and been taken away by Granny Ruth (Annie Ross) and her daughter Susan (Heather Rattray) to a home she runs especially for people like Duane and Belial.
However,I can tell you this is one of the best b movie horrors I have seen in a long time.Basket case 2 is what evil dead 2 was to evil dead.
In the last film (despite the low budget effects) Belial looked good in a cheesy way.
Switching off of that subject I would like to say that this film did have a higher budget and it was good that Kevin Van Hentenryck returned to play as Duane in this movie and that the budget was a lot higher in this film and the production value is noticeably better.
Whatever.What I really hate about Basket Case 2 is that it's like a real movie.
After the opening credits which are over a cool black and white drawing of Belial where he looks totally different to how he looks in the actual film, Basket Case 2 picks up right where the original Basket Case (1982) left off with Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck, who returns for this sequel) and his deformed mutant Siamese twin brother lying in Times Square in front of the Broslin Hotel having just fell from their room window.
In their mansion and hideaway for various freaks, Granny Ruth Smoeller (Annie Ross) and her granddaughter Susan (Heather Rattray) watch the news broadcasts and decide they should help Duane and Belial.
Back at their mansion in New Jersey Ruth and Susan take both Duane and Belial in, make them feel welcome, show them around and introduce them to the other assorted freaks who reside there.
However, Duane, Belial, Ruth and the rest of the freaky residents aren't going to let a snooping reporter expose them and plan to stop her and anyone else she has told, by whatever means necessary!Written and directed by Frank Henenlotter who was also responsible for the original, and like the original I really didn't think too much of it.
I will not watch the next movie Basket Case 3, it is terrible, I don't know why some people say it is a comedy..