The Basket Case Trilogy



When you think of cheesy B-Horror from the 80's, several names may come to mind. If you know your shit, Frank Henenlotter should be one of those names. And if so, then, you should also be familiar with a movie called Basket Case, as well as its two sequels. Basket Case is nothing short of a masterpiece of 80's schlock. Frank Henenlotter's bread and butter. The film he is most known for, with the style which everything else he's done is inspired by. It's all about freaks with this guy. Their issues, and their struggles. Henenlotter has come up with some unique stories over the years. A parasite which gets people hooked on a psychedelic drug that it secretes into them, a Frankenstein put together by body parts from prostitutes, a woman with 7 clits whose sexual appetite becomes deadly. Yes. Frank Henenlotter definitely has an unusual imagination. But one thing all those fucked up stories have in common is that they can all be traced back to Basket Case.

Basket Case revolves around a young man named Duane Bradley, who has recently traveled from Glenn's Falls to New York City for a reason that is at first unknown. Duane walks down Times Square, searching for a hotel, and carrying a wicker basket. Duane stops at the first place he sees. The Hotel Broslin. A shitty little hotel with some sleazy characters hanging around, some of which may be insane. They try to interact with Duane, but don't get too far as he seems to be a bit guarded, and clearly wants to just keep to himself during his stay. But what's the deal with this basket? Whatever is in there, Duane is having conversations with it when in private, some of which take place telepathically. Whatever or whoever is in there, is in Duane's head. Duane and his friend in the basket seem to have a few common enemies in in the big city. Duane goes to pay some doctors a visit, tightly gripping his basket at all times. As Duane makes his intentions clear, it is revealed that in the basket is his monsterous brother, Belial, who was once connected to his side, and eventually removed by doctors in an illegal operation forced upon them by their father, who never recognized Belial as his son, or even as human. Ever since, the formerly siamese twins have not been okay, and now, they both have revenge on their minds. Belial more so than Duane.

However, Duane gets a little distracted from the plan when he meets a hot receptionist at one of the doctor's offices. One would think Duane wouldn't be stupid enough to go on a date with this chick who worked for the doctor that him and his brother just killed, but Duane hasn't had much luck with the ladies, and is pretty excited about this opportunity. Belial, however, isn't happy for his brother at all. And one day, when Duane is out with his new friend, Belial, who was left behind, goes balistic, tearing the place apart, letting Duane know that this is not okay. "If I can't get laid, neither can you". At first, Duane is patient with his freak brother, presumably out of guilt, but soon, Belial pushes it, and the two head down a road which may do irreparable damage to their relationship.

Henenlotter's first full-length feature. 1982's Basket Case feels more like a 70's Drive-In gore flick than anything. It's no wonder Something weird Video picked it up. It was made early enough in the decade to not come off all that 80's, although, the 80's cheese is still very much present, and the weirdness is nothing short of delicious. I'll admit, I'm a little biased when it comes to this movie, though. Basket Case is actually the first Horror film I remember watching in the mid-80's on a program on the USA Network called Saturday Nightmares. At the young age or 6 or 7, I was beyond fascinated by what I was seeing. Breaking my Horror-hymen with such a weird experience left me wanting more. More Horror, and especially more low-budget B-Horror. From the cheap keyboard, to the over-the-top, bad acting, to the cheap affects, to the shit film quality. In my opinion, Basket Case is THE B-Horror flick they should all be compared to. Thank you, Frank Henenlotter for making such a weird bad movie. My taste in the Horror genre wouldn't be the same without it. 10/10

Basket Case didn't really need a sequel. And going by the way it ended, one would assume it would be out of the question. But unfortunately, popularity almost always breeds sequels. If a Basket Case 2 happened two or three years later, that would be one thing. But Mr. Henenlotter didn't make this sequel until the early 90's. A time when B-Horror movies, and movies in general, were just different. That 70's/80's charm is long gone by now, and it ain't coming back. Basket Case 2 was actually my first taste of a 90's sequel to an 80's classic. And this experience would help mold my opinion of all 90's Horror. I hate 90's Horror, and Basket Case 2 is a big reason why. Although, I'd also like to give credit to Scream and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4, but that's a different storiy. The point is, Basket Case 2 is typical 90's B-Horror. Self aware, intentional weirdness over natural weirdness, and better in all the wrong ways. He should have left it alone.

With out going into any spoilers, let's just say that the culmination of the first movie left both Duane and Belial more than a little banged up. Possibly near death. The brothers are now in a hospital, and the future looks pretty bleak for them both. But we're soon introduced to a new character who is about to take this story in a completely different direction. "Granny Ruth", a friend of their late aunt who took them in after their father's death, heard about the brother's shenanigans on the news, and heads to the hospital to break them free from their bleak futures, and us from a decent sequel. When Duane and Belial awaken, they are made aware of their surroundings, and their new friend. And eventually, her friends. Granny Ruth has turned her home into a sanctuary for freaks, where Duane and Belial have been invited to stay and live in peace with their people. But Duane has other ideas. Convinced he's not one of THEM, Duane is ready to bail and go off and start a normal life. And he wants to take Ruth's granddaughter, Susan, with him, whom he claims to be in love with. Funny. It's kind of early in the movie for talk like that. This is literally their first one-on-one scene together, and already Duane's in love, again. Belial doesn't mind because he's got his own love interest, this time. A similar looking freak named Eve. Duane's plans are post poned when a reporter gets up in their business, and they band together to preserve their way of life, by any means necessary. However, this is all a distraction, as Duane's issues must eventually be addressed, as well as the brother's issues with eachother, which leads to one hell of a sweet ending.

Sweet ending aside, as well as the fact that it's not THAT bad of a movie, Basket Case 2 just didn't need to happen. We didn't need to be made aware of what became of Duane and Belial after the first movie. This sequel lacks every bit of the original magic, and focuses far less on the twin brothers. Henenlotter is playing the "freaks" card for everything it's worth with this one, and has abandoned the sleazy, inept charm which made the original so great. And I personally don't like this direction. The whole thing was a little goofy for my taste. The freaks were stupid. There! I said it. 5/10

And what could possibly be more unnecessary than Basket Case 2? That's right! A part 3 where Duane, Ruth, Belial and the gang hop in a school bus and take a road trip to Georgia. Yes! That fucking happened! More on that in a minute. Unfortunately, Basket Case 3 is very much Granny Ruth's movie. And we've now gone full blown Horror Comedy. It's been close to a year since the last movie. Duane is now insane. The culmination of Basket Case 2 has left him a bit damaged, and after doing something really, really bad, Granny Ruth now keeps him in a padded cell and a straight jacket. But soon, he's going to get himself a change of scenery. Ruth and the gang are planning a trip to visit Ruth's 11-armed son who is going to deliver Eve's litter. The son who inspired her "freak lifestyle" But anyway, yeah. Belial knocked up Eve, and is going to be a dad. While the freaks are nice enough to let Duane tag along, the straight jacket stays on, for now. And Belial still isn't speaking to him. Which is understandable, after the shit he pulled. At this point, Duane has one thing on his mind. Escaping. But after Duane gets picked up by the law, the hospitable South makes trouble for the freak family, and yet again, extreme measures must be taken to preserve their way of life.

While Basket Case 3 is clearly the most unnecessary one of the trilogy, it doesn't leave the bad taste in my mouth that the second one did. I can't help but compare the first sequel to the original. Yet, when I compare Basket Case 3 to the one that came before it, it doesn't seem so bad. So it couldn't possibly be a letdown. Although, it still sucks, obviously. Basket Case 3 was made soon after the second one. They do seem like one, long stupid movie. And I guess if that were the case, Basket Case 2 would be quite the epic, as stupid as it would still be. The final chapter of this trilogy does have a few entertaining moments, and isn't quite as bland as 2. Still very much worth checking out for anyone who likes weird, stupid movies with cartoonish violence and campy humor. The freaks add about as much humor as they did in the last movie. And Granny Ruth is getting pretty annoying by this point. The main reason to stick it out for the whole movie would be the scenes including Duane, and his attempts to break free from Granny Ruth and her freak family, and his unsuccessful attempts to outsmart the local law enforcement once he does. The freaks may be stupid, and Granny Ruth may be an annoying bitch, but Frank Henenlotter set out to make yet aother freak show, and that's exactly what he did. 4/10

I can't very well blame Henenlotter for milking his original creation just a little bit more, but he is capable of so much more than this. See Brain Damage for proof. The sad part is that Basket Case 3 would be his last movie for about 17 years, until he brought us that weird shit known as Bad Biology. The one about the seven clits. An improvement over the Basket Case sequels, for sure, but nowhere near as amazing as the original. Hopefully, Henenlotter isn't quite finished unleashing his unique brand of weirdness on us. I've even heard rumors that he might not even be done with the Basket Case series. As bad at the first two sequels were, I would still have high hopes if another one came to be. The woman who played Granny Ruth is long retired from acting, and Henenlotter would most likely try something different. Or something more like the original, which is probably what most of us would prefer. Only time will tell. I'm fine with whatever Frank ends up doing, but it would be nice for this series to go out on a higher note, and to get a chance to wash off that lingering 90's stench once and for all.

Patricia Arquette in Lost Highway

There are all kinds of superlatives I could use to describe Patricia Arquette in Lynch's Lost Highway: Captivating, mesmerizing, checks thesaurus.com.. bewitching, hypnotizing, spellbinding, beguiling, entracing.. ok that's enough.

Without Arquette, I feel Lost Highway would be a lesser Lynch work. I can't think of another actress of the time who could have pulled this role off to such perfection. Blonde, or brunette, clothes on, clothes off, in HD she is simply a visual feast for the eyes.





I didn't understand the plot of the movie. And to be honest, I don't particularly care. Probably because I was too busy vigorously mastabating every time Arquette made an appearance (there is a fairly long section which doesn't have her in, so there is time for a break).

But on a last note, to Fulcento if you are reading this, you can keep your scrawny Tara Reid, this is a real woman :

Graphic Designers Needed

Design a logo for Trash Epics. We have icon logos, but we need a banner image. This site is too dry without one. Anyone who delivers a good design will get a $5 Amazon gift card or something.

the Sandworms in Dune

Whether Dune is "Trash" or not is a matter of personal opinion, but I don't think anyone would seriously argue that it is anything other than Epic, definitely with a capital E. Anyway, I was just thinking about the scene where Muad Dib harnesses the humongous Sandworm...


I bet that was so freaking difficult to film. Pardon me, this is TrashEpics, what I meant to say was "so FUCKING difficult." Running in the sand like that is no joke, you get super super super tired. And those guys are just actors, they aren't athletes or soldiers, trained for that type of thing... I bet they slept well, the night after filming that scene. I know, you only see them running in the sand for a few seconds, but I bet they had to go through dozens of takes before they got the one the director liked best.

I sometimes wonder about how this film has been perceived, over the years, by soldiers fighting in the desert. The Muad Dib character is sort of like the Mahdi, or maybe other figures in Islam... and, just the general milieu of fighting in the desert, in a war with control of an important resource at stake... I bet people fighting on all different sides have often imagined themselves to be characters in this movie.

Any Carpenter Brut fans?



Really fucking cool video done to Lucio Fulci's Murder Rock.

#80sasscheeks #80shair #Luciofucli #Spandex

Bad Boy Bubby (1993)

What can I say about this Hilarious dark sometimes Distrubing movie without spoiling it for people who haven't seen this film.
If you haven't got a chance to watch the movie it's difently worth a watch.


For the ones who have seen it, I got a email from some asshole on Imdb today telling me I was basically a dumb fuck for rating it a 9/10 but my review on the film was decent but that I should change my rating to a 2/10.
So I guess what I'am asking is did I rate this movie way to high.
I personally loved the fuck out of the movie.

Universal Monsters: Frankenstein

In 2004, I turned 16, and started working the very next day. The following paychecks would go towards dvds almost exclusively. In that year, Universal released what would retrospectively be a terrible film called "Van Helsing". I appreciate the film for bringing the older Universal monster films to my attention. This film would call for the re-release of 6 of the most iconic film monsters of all time, aka the Universal Monsters.

The first set I bought was the Frankenstein Legacy Collection, which featured 5 Frankenstein films, though not in chronological order. It would skip certain entries that would fit more in other monsters' sets, but for the most part, it was a damn fine set that got me hooked on these historical horror films. There's something pure about these films that always fascinates me, thus making me want to review them.

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Frankenstein (1931)

The film doesn't even follow the novel that well (not that I ever read it), but it works more as its own canon of Frankenstein mythology. The changes are generally pretty minor, though the obvious one remains with the doctor himself.

Instead of Victor Frankenstein, it's Henry Frankenstein, played by an antsy and eager Colin Clive, and Victor is a side character who is essentially pointless. Universal had a thing about adding romances to all of their movies, and this guy was there just for that appeal.

Generally speaking, the film is just a marvel to watch. Like many of their films at the time, it was shot on small sets that were obviously fake, but that stage-like atmosphere really adds to the experience. I much prefer this approach as compared to overblown CGI landscapes you'd see in today's films. It helps add a sense of confinement, helping you get invested in the immediate scenarios.



Even after all these years, Karloff is the definitive Frankenstein monster. His look is just too damn iconic, with his flat-top, neck bolts, platform boots, and his suit. It's so iconic, every effort after this was modeled after his image. Well, as much as they could, anyway...

Universal is a real dick, and will sue anyone who tries to use their image for the monster, so people have to get creative with it in order to avoid rights issues, but they always strive for the Karloff look, because it's simply perfect.

Universal also distributed a Hammer Frankenstein sequel, "The Evil of Frankenstein", but they still wouldn't allow the monster's look to be too similar to the original Karloff look. Those fucks!

Karloff (credited as "???") gives a soulful performance that's extremely dumbed down in everything after the first sequel, and it alone justifies his status as a horror icon. He may be a dumb brute, but he plays it with curiosity, fear, and anger. You can't help but feel sympathetic with him. He wasn't a particularly large man either, but the makeup and costume design are wonderful, even by today's standards.



Then you have the inept and over-the-top lab assistant Fritz, played by Dwight Frye: an actor who would star in several Frankenstein films, albeit as different characters every time. In the second film Bride of Frankenstein, he pretty much plays the same character, only this time he's named Karl, and is less prominent.

This dude (also know for his role as Renfield in Dracula '31) annoyed me to death when I first saw his over-acting, but I've grown to love him for novelty sake. He's a totally different character than the Ygor we'd all come to see in the later entries, but the stereotype started with Fritz. They're both twisted fucks who like getting revenge on people, be it for being bullied or hanged. Plus, if it weren't for Fritz, the monster would have a "normal" brain, and what fun is that?



What really makes this film pop is the production values. The early Universal films just ooze with atmosphere and iconic horror imagery (imagery largely created by these films) and a dreary mood to accentuate them. Foggy graveyards, crazy laboratories, and twisted castle inpired by German expressionist films like Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Frankenstein sets the standard for gothic horror.

Without these films, we wouldn't have Hammer Horror. Without Hammer Horror, we wouldn't have Dark Shadows! Think about that!



Frankenstein '31 can act as a stand-alone film, offering more than enough for it's short runtime to satisfy any horror fan, especially when viewed for a season October experience, but it also makes a perfect double feature with Bride of Frankenstein. With many of the original actors returning, it acts as a perfect continuation and conclusion to the Frankenstein saga, though there would obviously be several more entries in the series.

That's another reason why it's so interesting... it was among the first horror franchises, and depicted an ongoing narrative... one riddled with continuity errors, mind you... yet entertaining nonetheless. Universal would milk this character for all his worth, until the later entries had Frankenstein become a caricature of himself.

Your October Horror Watchlist

October is less than a month away now, so what do you have lined up to watch?

Mine is (subject to change of course):

Halloween Franchise - Watching for obvious reasons. I'll be skipping Zombie's films and probably Resurrection too.

A Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise - Because it's Freddy! Also, Craven passed away, which is all the more reason to rewatch it. I'll skip the remake though.

Crimson Peak (2015) - A gothic horror film from Guillermo Del Toro? I'm on board!

Trick r' Treat (2007) - A great horror anthology set on the holiday, so of course it's required viewing.

Tremors Franchise - Because Tremors 5 is out in Oct, plus the series is the best thing ever.

The Evil Dead trilogy - Because Ash vs. Evil Dead debuts on Halloween. I gotta get ready!

Deadly Blessing (1981) - A Craven film I've never seen.

Chiller (1985) - Another Craven film I've never seen.

American Mary (2012) - Heard good things and have been meaning to check out more of the Soska Sister's work.

Nightbreed: Director's Cut (1990) - Only seen the theatrical cut and have been anxious to see this long awaited and talked about director's cut.

Sorority Row (2009) - I don't know, I guess I just want to watch a shitty slasher remake?

We Are What We Are (2013) - A horror flick about a family of cannibals? Sold!

Twixt (2012) - A Francis Ford Coppola directed horror flick...hopefully it's decent.

Tales of Halloween (2015) - The highly talked about horror anthlogy film, I'm excited and hope it's at least fun even if it doesn't live up to the hype.

The Harvest (2013) - A new horror film from John McNaughton? Fuck yeah!

Things (1989) - Because I have to...right?

I'll also be watching American Horror Story: Hotel and the Walking Dead too I suppose.

#Halloween #Horror #October

Sam Kinison fans?

If you are not a Sam Kinison fan, it just means you haven't been exposed to him yet, like maybe if you are 20 years old and grew up in New Zealand or somewhere... anyway, if you don't know who he is, you owe it to yourself to watch this. The part from about 1:50 to 1:54 makes me laugh as hard as I have ever laughed at anything in my life. My stomach hurts right now because I have been cracking up, watching it.

Imogen Poots in Fright Night (201?)

I watched part of this today, and I was struck by how they had her change from being a modern looking girl, into a very Hammer-esque vamp, in the last quarter or so of the movie. She had a white garment of some kind for a top, with a gray sweater over it, and I didn't think it looked particularly out of place for modern times (although I have no clue about such things, and I could be wrong). But anyway, after she vamped out, the same outfit made her look exactly like a Hammer vampiress from the 60s or 70s... pretty cool to see.

Had to share.