Moving to a new city is stressful at the best of times. But that goes double for Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck), who arrives in New York with his telepathic Siamese twin Belial, who he carries around in a wicker basked. Previously conjoined, they’re on a mission to take revenge on the doctors that separated them, with a terrible and bloody rampage about to ensue.
A wildly gory and very funny midnight movie, Basket Case was a late-night cinema hit in the 1980s and became one of several films caught up in the moral panic of the early 1980s. With its tongue firmly in its cheek – victims have names like Dr. Kutter and Dr. Needleman, and one of the film’s most memorable scenes sees Belial smashing up a hotel room when Duane kisses a girl – this is a film of numerous pleasures, not least its early ’80s New York setting. Suiting the VHS aesthetic down to a tee, this is a real treat with an audience.