Basket Case 3 - 2/5

If Basket Case 2 was the main course, then Basket Case 3 would be the leftovers from that meal eaten three days later. It's like a half eaten malt that you stick in the freezer with your spoon still stuck in only to have your malt the next day have that metallic ting in the flavor. As you can tell Basket Case 3 is just the bad aftertaste of the surprisingly decent Basket Case 2.

I feel Basket Case 3 came about because director Frank Henenlotter and executive producer James Glickenhaus had all those expensive ridiculous looking monster suits left over from Basket Case 2. Why let those expensive suits go to waste when we can make one more film with them and get your money's worth? Hence Basket Case 3 was quickly put into production.

Since it was made so damn quickly after Basket Case 2 the filmmakers were able to use the same cast, suits, sets, etc. Opening with a flashback of Basket Case 2 (including that graphic mutant sex scene....like I wanted to see that again!), we find out that Belial's girlfriend is pregnant. Because of this our Granny Ruth decides to take her deformed herd on a road trip in a school bus to visit a doctor (who has a grotesquely deformed son of his own) for help. Cops get word of their arrival and raid the house to get Belial and his brother as they are still wanted by the law for the events in the original Basket Case. They kill Belial's girlfriend and steal all twelve of his babies. Belial of course doesn't take too kind to this, and thanks to a new robot walking suit, goes for revenge.

The whole film has a rushed feel to it like it was quickly put into production after Basket Case 2. Though having the plot itself revolve around Belial having children is interesting enough, the rest of the plot lacks. The film also has a different tone than the first films doing away with almost all the gore and going for a more cartoony approach. We even have Belial strangle a cop only to have his eyes and teeth pop out of his head like a Looney Tune character. What....is this supposed to be Basket Case here? Director Frank Henenlotter disowns the film blaming producer interference taking away his ability to make a bloody film. I guess I can't totally blame Hennonlotter for the lackluster results but this film is still a far cry from his earlier much better works like Brain Damage. The film isn't completely worthless though as it did get a few chuckles from me but overall this was just too silly without the trademark grotesqueness to be a respectable entry into the Basket Case series.

Bonus Rant: Though the title on the film itself has always just been Basket Case 3, all the original cover arts and promotion items featured the title Basket Case 3: The Progeny. Basket Case 3 joins the ranks of other films like Die Hard 2: "Die Harder" and Gate II: "Return to the Nightmare" of always seeming to have a subtitle but never actually having one.

Written By Eric Reifschneider