The feature debut of director Frank Henenlotter (Brain Damage, Frankenhooker), 1982’s Basket Case is a riotous and blood-spattered “midnight movie” experience, now presented for the first time ever on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.
Duane Bradley seems like a pretty ordinary guy. His formerly conjoined twin Belial, on the other hand, is a deformed creature who lives in a wicker basket. Arriving in the Big Apple and taking up a room at a seedy hotel, the pair set about hunting down and butchering the surgeons responsible for their separation.
Filmed on a shoestring budget against the backdrop of 1980s New York (where it played on the midnight movie circuit for over two-and-a-half years), Basket Case has clawed its way from its humble origins to become one of the most celebrated cult movies of all time.
4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• 4K restoration from the original 16mm negative by MoMA
• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original uncompressed PCM mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Audio commentary with writer/director Frank Henenlotter and star Kevin VanHentenryck
• Archival audio commentary with Frank Henenlotter, producer Edgar Ievins, actor Beverly Bonner and filmmaker Scooter McRae
• Basket Case 3-1/2: An Interview with Duane Bradley – short film by Frank Henenlotter
• Me and the Bradley Boys – interview with actor Kevin VanHentenryck
• A Brief Interview with Director Frank Henenlotter – a strange 2017 interview with the director
• Seeing Double: The Basket Case Twins – interview with actors Florence and Maryellen Schultz
• Blood, Basket and Beyond – interview with actor Beverly Bonner
• The Latvian Connection – featurette including interviews with producer Edgar Ievins, casting person/actor Ilze Balodis, associate producer/special effects artist Ugis Nigals and Belial performer Kika Nigals
• Belial Goes to the Drive-In – interview with film critic Joe Bob Briggs
• Basket Case at MoMA – footage from the 2017 restoration premiere
• What’s in the Basket? – feature-length documentary covering the three films in the Basket Case series
• In Search of the Hotel Broslin – archival location featurette
• The Frisson of Fission: Basket Case, Conjoined Twins, and ‘Freaks’ in Cinema – video essay by Travis Crawford
• Slash of the Knife (1976, 30 mins) – short made by Frank Henenlotter featuring many of the same actors from Basket Case, including optional audio commentary with Frank Henenlotter and playwright Mike Bencivenga
• Basket Case and Slash of the Knife outtakes
• Belial’s Dream (2017, 5 mins) – animated short by filmmaker Robert Morgan
• Extensive image galleries
• Trailers, TV & radio spots
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
• Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara Deck
• Collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Michael Gingold and a Basket Case comic strip by artist Martin Trafford”
