Released: 29th April 2024. The feature debut of director Frank Henenlotter (Brain Damage, Frankenhooker), 1982’s Basket Case is a riotous and blood-spattered “midnight movie” experience.
Duane Bradley seems like a pretty ordinary guy. His formerly conjoined twin Belial, on the other hand, is a deformed creature who lives in a wicker basket. Arriving in the Big Apple and taking up a room at a seedy hotel, the pair set about hunting down and butchering the surgeons responsible for their separation.
Filmed on a shoestring budget against the backdrop of 1980s New York (where it played on the midnight movie circuit for over two-and-a-half years), Basket Case has clawed its way from its humble origins to become one of the most celebrated cult movies of all time.
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS
4K restoration from the original 16mm negative by the Museum of Modern Art in cooperation with director Frank Henenlotter
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with writer/director Frank Henenlotter and star Kevin Van Hentenryck
Archival audio commentary with Frank Henenlotter, producer Edgar Ievins, actor Beverly Bonner and filmmaker Scooter McRae
Basket Case 3-1/2: An Interview with Duane Bradley – short film by Frank Henenlotter
Me and the Bradley Boys – interview with actor Kevin Van Hentenryck
A Brief Interview with Director Frank Henenlotter – a strange 2017 interview with the director
Seeing Double: The Basket Case Twins – interview with actors Florence and Mary Ellen Schultz
Blood, Basket and Beyond – interview with actor Beverly Bonner
The Latvian Connection – featurette including interviews with producer Edgar Ievins, casting person/actor Ilze Balodis, associate producer/special effects artist Ugis Nigals and Belial performer Kika Nigals
Belial Goes to the Drive-In – interview with film critic Joe Bob Briggs
Basket Case at MoMA – footage from the 2017 restoration premiere
What’s in the Basket? – feature-length documentary covering the three films in the Basket Case series
In Search of the Hotel Broslin – archival location featurette
The Frisson of Fission: Basket Case, Conjoined Twins, and ‘Freaks’ in Cinema – video essay by Travis Crawford
Slash of the Knife (1976, 30 mins) – short made by Frank Henenlotter featuring many of the same actors from Basket Case, including optional audio commentary with Frank Henenlotter and playwright Mike Bencivenga
Basket Case and Slash of the Knife outtakes
Belial’s Dream (2017, 5 mins) – animated short by filmmaker Robert Morgan
Extensive image galleries
Trailers, TV & radio spots
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
Collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Michael Gingold and a Basket Case comic strip by artist Martin Trafford