6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Duane and his basket-bound mutant brother are taken in by a secret home for wayward freaks with journalists hot on their tail.
Starring: Kevin Van Hentenryck, Judy Grafe, Annie Ross, Heather Rattray, Beverly BonnerHorror | 100% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
I suppose technically, formerly conjoined twins Duane and Belial died at the end of 1982’s “Basket Case,” but when has finality ever stopped a horror franchise from taking shape? The understandably unsettled siblings return to action in 1990’s “Basket Case 2,” which offers writer/director Frank Henenlotter (“Frankenhooker”) an opportunity to expand his vision for brotherly love with a slightly larger budget and more polished technical achievements. While the sheer oddity of “Basket Case” is impossible to replicate, Henenlotter takes his creation to pleasingly broad extremes, cooking up a tribute to “Freaks,” Tod Browning’s 1932 shocker, to help provide dramatic direction for his follow up. Returning to the ways of grotesque characters, psychological collapse, and bizarre events, “Basket Case 2” is a largely successful sequel that brings the series into a new era, ready to explore its old bag of tricks.
Sourced from the original 35mm camera negative, the AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation is generally outstanding, supplying a bright, vivid look at the macabre highlights of Henenlotter's creation. Colors are secure and communicative, offering bold primaries and strong style when the mood calls for a perversion of reality. Costuming retains crisp hues and monster make-up is accurate. Skintones are natural. Detail is excellent, bringing out the gruesome particulars of the freaks, helping to identify the technical artistry of the picture. Costuming is fibrous and set decoration is ready for exploration. Delineation is ideal. Source periodically encounters faint speckling and single-frame blotching, but nothing distracts.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix provides an agreeable overview of the movie's mischief, leading with crisp dialogue exchanges that blend human interactions with Unique Individual commotion, offering distinct grunts and moans to the background. Scoring is sharp with pleasing instrumentation, never steamrolling over the action. Atmospherics are fresh and lively, filling out the nightmare. Sound effects arrive with appropriate emphasis, preserving squishiness.
Normality is the theme of "Basket Case 2," following Duane's torment as he tries to imagine a peaceful life without his basket-residing, separated conjoined twin lurking in the shadows. Performances aren't exceptional, but the soap opera elements of the effort register pleasingly, along with teases of insanity, studying Duane as he reaches the end of his rope when it comes to tolerating Belial's destructive ways. The pairing remains as macabre as ever in the follow-up, but Henenlotter comes up with a few interesting narrative detours to help disturb expectations, while the conclusion takes a weird tale and turns it bonkers, dialing up grim reveals to a point of genre explosion, ending with the blood-soaked brotherly reunion the series has been waiting for. Henenlotter knows how to land a picture, and "Basket Case 2" benefits from a late-inning surge of insanity, turning a passable chiller with intriguing design accomplishments into something unforgettable.
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