Rish Outfield's reviews
A twisted, perverse, but oddly-appealing horror film. A poor guy with really big hair moves into a New York apartment building (in a part of town only Travis Bickle would drive around in) carrying a basket. Inside the basket is his horribly deformed, recently-separated siamese twin. Mayhem ensues. Everyone is sleazy in this flick, and I couldn't help but feel a little sleazy myself afterward. It was made on no budget and it shows. Still, there were some cute moments, boys and girls. Cute in an opposite-of-cute sort of way, of course. The back of the video case quoted Rex Reed as saying, "Basket Case is the sickest movie I've ever seen!" and it's used as a compliment. That should tell you what to expect. And yes, it was sick. But fun, for the most part. The ending was disappointing--I thought it was going one place and they took me in a completely less-satisfying, less rewarding direction. The disturbing climactic rape scene left good taste miles behind, and helped detour the film from one I'd watch again to one I was glad to put back on the shelf.
Best Scare: One of the myriad times the sick little puppet-guy popped out.
I'd Recommend It To: Select, indiscriminate horror fans--especially those who are attracted by the aforementioned Rex Reed quote.

The tyranist's thoughts
Terrible. It just was. And how that poor girl died! Well, if you are very into low budget, gross-out kind of flicks, this one may be the one for you. It largely takes place in a very seedy hotel and involves the most terrible kind of twins. I am having a very hard time reviewing this movie simply because I found it so lacking in charm. I wouldn't say it was disturbing like Maniac, but instead more like having someone show you their third grade clay model that is supposed to be human and really appears to be some kind of deformed lemur. I would say that you should just stay away from this one, but I know people who say you absolutely shouldn't miss it. Just think about how that poor girl died.
Okay, I know that those last few sentences are really just going to make some of you want to see it even more. What can I do to dissuade you. This movie is cheap. This movie is poorly acted. There are scenes that make absolutely no sense. There is maybe one character that it is even possible to empathize with. This movie lacks many of the more basic niceties. Niceties aren't something a lot of people think about when they are considering a horror film, but I believe that they are still necessary to enjoy any film. Little things like not taking your audience for granted. Attempting to convince the audience that there is a plot. Actually making the characters' pasts make sense. Without little things like this a film is only so much celluloid.