FORMAT: 4K UHD (REWATCH)
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
(As posted on July 25th, 2009)
“What’s in the basket?”
It’s a question asked by many people in Basket Case. Those who find out usually get torn to pieces. Most of them deserve it. Some of them don’t. The ones that do boy… phew!
Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck) carries the titular wicker box around for most of the movie. He checks into a fleabag hotel in New York City with the box in tow. But he’s not in New York to sightsee. Duane’s really there to find the doctors who…
I know most of you reading this review already know what is inside the box. Usually, I have no qualms about spoiling major plot points in my reviews. Most of the time, I’ll tell the movie’s “big secret” in the review without so much as a Spoiler Warning. Not this time. If you’re reading this and have never seen Basket Case before, stop reading this and go see it IMMEDIATELY.
You know I watched Basket Case today for the first time in several years and it’s amazing how well it still holds up even after repeated viewings. I’ve seen it probably a half dozen times now (the first time I saw it was on Up All Night or Night Flight, I can’t remember) and it still packed a wallop today. Why does it work so well? Mostly because we can sympathize with Duane’s plight. We want to see him get his revenge; that’s a given. We also want to see him get the girl too. Because of his attachment to what’s inside the basket, we know it can’t be.
Another thing that makes Basket Case fire on all cylinders is director Frank (Frankenhooker) Henenlotter’s storytelling. He expertly sets up the premise (not before starting things off with an unsettling murder set piece) and slowly builds the suspense to a boil. He also captures the sleazy side of early ‘80s New York with a lovingly affectionate eye. The way he films The Big Apple’s rundown flophouses, Kung Fu movie theaters, hookers, and drug dealers, he makes it seem like a pretty cool place to live.
I watched the flick today with a buddy of mine who had never seen it. Part of the fun was watching him reacting to the film. He loved every second of it and jumped and howled at all the right places. This flick really works with a crowd. I can only imagine what it was like to see it in a packed theater full of people.
They don’t make movies like Basket Case anymore. If you’ve never seen it, do yourself a favor and see it. If you’ve already seen it, check it out again. You’ll be glad you did.
Basket Case is on The Video Vacuum Top Ten Films of 1982 at the Number 7 spot which places it in between First Blood and Tron.
QUICK THOUGHTS:
Basket Case is truly a thing of beauty. It still manages to be fresh, funny, and wild AF over forty years later. Frank Henenlotter paced this classic like a locomotive and packed it with enough blood and laughs for ten movies. It’s easily one of the best horror movies of the ‘80s.
4K UHD NOTES:
None other than the MOMA was responsible for the 4K restoration of Basket Case. It makes perfect sense because this movie is a fucking work of art. MOMA knows what’s up. This is the best it’s ever looked too. The nighttime blacks run deep, the neon-lit New York scenes really pop, and little Belial looks better than ever. All in all, an absolute masterpiece that every respectable horror fan needs in their 4K collection.
No comments:
Post a Comment