Amazon.com Customer Reviews
 Rated 5 out of 5!
A stunningly prescient rumination on Euro-American relations
Every generation or so, a movie appears that redefines the boundaries of the medium, that turns the status quo on its collective head and brings about a paradigm shift in broader social and academic circles. Basket Case is one such film. Released to lukewarm attention at the Cannes Film Festival in 1982, the movie’’s overarching theme -- two separated brothers engulfed in a love-hate relationship because of their once conjoined state -- seemed out of place in the height of the Cold War. Yet the Berlin Wall ultimately fell, much as a doctor’’s scalpel separated the film’’s mismatched protagonists. Who knew then that the brothers’’ subsequent search for justice, marred by periodic distrust and misunderstanding, would so aptly serve as a post-glasnost roadmap for diplomats on both sides of the Atlantic? After all, Europe and America were separated, too, if by revolution rather than a surgeon’’s knife. If the thinkers at the Project for a New American Century and the French parliament had heeded this movie’’s cautionary tale, we wouldn’’t be involved in such current frivolities as "freedom fries."But I digress. While this film was unjustly shut out of Oscar honors in 1982, someday Kevin VanHentenryck may well receive the award his masterwork most richly deserves: The Nobel Peace Prize.  Rated 3 out of 5
Great premise, bad look
This movie is just way too ugly looking to be good. I know special effects shouldn’’t matter, but sometimes you need just a little bit to help push a picture along. I like the whole premise about the two brothers. I think they should remake it into modern day. Rated 4 out of 5
What’’s in the basket, kid?
’’The tenant in room 7 is small, twisted, and very mad.’’ One of my favorite tag lines from a movie.This is a great, low bugdet shlock horror/comedy from the early 80’’s. It involves two brothers and their plot to get revenge. I hate to give anymore away, but this is a cult classic that has spawned a couple of sequels. I haven’’t seen them, but I have seen this one, and it’’s lots of fun. The story is definately interesting with it’’s flashbacks and the actors will never win any Oscars, but they really help to make this movie. And then there’’s the seedy locations. Basically this type of film making is called "using what you got and making the most of it". And then there’’s the special effects....not over the top, but effective enough to fit nicely with the story. The stop motion animation was a little cheesy, but then that added to the fun of the movie for me. All in all, I had a great time watching this movie. Something Weird Video (SWV) did a really great job with this DVD. I was a little disappointed that the movie was only available in full screen format, but the amount of extras included was truly amazing. I really enjoyed the piece where the director goes back and tries to locate certain locations from the movie. Great stuff, and pretty complete. So, in closing, if you want to see a low budget, gory, horror/comedy schlockfest that was done really well, get this movie, if you’’ve got the guts. And as an added bonus, get a glimpse of what times square used to look like before it got all cleaned up and ’’disneyfied’’. Not a lot of footage on this, but a chance to see how seedy and raw it used to be, with it’’s hookers, grindhouses, triple-X theaters, etc., compared to what it is now.
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