Basket Case 3: The Progeny (1992)

Director:

Frank Henenlotter

Writers:

Frank Henenlotter (writer)
Robert Martin (writer)

Release Date:

February 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

It's Time To Build A Bigger Basket!

Plot:

The saga of Times Square Freak Twins Duane and Belail Bradley takes its most bizarre twist yet. It all...

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Monster | Deputy | Basket | Doctor

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Kevin Van Hentenryck	...	Duane Bradley
Annie Ross	...	Granny Ruth
Gil Roper	...	Sheriff
Dan Biggers	...	Uncle Hal
Jim O'Doherty	...	Little Hal
Tina Louise Hilbert	...	Opal
Carla Morrell	...	Twin #1
Carmen Morrell	...	Twin #2
Jackson Faw	...	Bailey
Jim Grimshaw	...	Baxter
Tim Warle	...	Brannon
Jerry G. White	...	Banner
Beverly Bonner	...	Fast Food Manager
Rick Smailes	...	Elmo
Jeff Winter	...	Renaldo

Also Known As:

Basket Case 3 (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R | Spain:13 | Finland:K-18

Company:

Shapiro-Glickenhaus Home Video

Trivia:

Director Frank Henenlotter admitted in an interview that he had to remove 11 pages of the script during filming because the producers decided to make the film less gory.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Little Hal's machine makes the Sheriff a cup of coffee, the machine spills milk and sugar all over the cup's saucer. In the next shot, as the sheriff picks it up, the saucer is completely clean.

Quotes:

Sheriff: Good Lord, what the hell is going on here?
Opal: Oh Daddy, thank God you're here!
Sheriff: What have I told you about messing with my prisoners!
Opal: He attacked me!
Sheriff: Put that blouse back on young lady, and get rid of that bull whip!
Duane Bradley: I can explain.
Sheriff: And just who the hell are you?
Duane Bradley: Duane Bradley, sir. I'm being held against my will.
Sheriff: Didn't I see you on that bus today?
Opal: He's a freak, Daddy, his brother's a monster!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Features Basket Case 2 (1990)

Soundtrack:

Personality

Leave your dignity at the door.

Frank Hennenlotter made the classic "Basket Case", a highly enjoyable film with two great heroes: Duane and Belial, Siamese twins (one normal, one deformed) getting revenge on the doctors who separated them. I really liked it, and really wanted to like it's two sequels. Unfortunately the sequels are totally unlike the first one, in tone and in content, although not without their own charm.

In "Basket Case 2" Duane and Belial joined up with a group of God-forsaken abnormalities that were more humorous than horrific. It might have been passable entertainment if the mutations were cool looking, but too many of them were cheap-looking and silly. Well, they all return for this one, and it's a mild improvement. Belial has fathered a dozen baby Belials who are promptly kidnapped by the local police, setting Belial off on another killing spree.

The best parts of this flick involve Duane. He spends the first half of the movie in a straight jacket, and I for some reason I found him hilarious and very likable. There's a great scene where Duane eats corn flakes while Belial kills a guy wearing leopard-print briefs. Other highlights include Belial in a robotic body and the patriarchal Granny Ruth singing "Personality" backed by the freaks.

The worst part has to be the scene where Belial's girlfriend Eve is giving birth and a new character called Little Hal is videotaping it. Someone must have thought this actor was hilarious and let him improvise the scene or something, because he gives an almost unwatchable "comic" performance. In fact, the weakest part of any Hennenlotter movie is when it tries too hard to be funny. The original "Basket Case" is funny in a dark way, and never resorts to silliness.

I also don't get why in one scene the freaks decide to become a part of society and then in the next scene invade a fast food restaurant and eat the customers' food off their trays. That's not the best way to win people's affection; I know, I've tried.

The "Basket Case" sequels have more in common with Hennenlotter's "Frankenhooker" than with his "Brain Damage", so if you liked the former then this flick is probably right up your alley (if you don't mind gore that's over-the-top and cartoony instead of realistic- I like either).