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| Basket Case 3: The Progeny | |
| Synapse Films // R // $19.95 // October 9, 2012 | |
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| Review by David Walker | posted December 18, 2012 |
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Somehow, and I'm not sure how, I managed to miss Basket Case 3: The Progeny. That in and of itself is bad enough. But that's not what is really bad. What is really bad is that I didn't even know there was a third film in director Frank Henenlotter's Basket Case series. I saw the first two films, and then this one slipped past me, unnoticed for more than twenty years. And that is just plain pathetic. Well, it may be more than two decades late, but at least I've finally seen the third go-round of the Bradley twins.
Picking up where Basket Case 2 left off, BC3 finds Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck) desperate to be rejoined with his deformed, murderous conjoined twin brother Belial. In BC2, Belial hooked up with the equally deformed freak Eve, for what could possibly be the most ridiculous sex scene in any horror movie. Well, in the aftermath of their tryst, Eve is knocked up, and Belial is upset with Duane for coming between him and the love of his life. Meanwhile, the nutty Granny Ruth (Annie Ross) packs up her extended family of freaks and heads down south to see Uncle Hal (Dan Biggers). It seems that Uncle Hal is some type of doctor, and only he will know how to help Eve deliver her babies. No sooner does drop a litter of twelve mini versions of Belial, than the local police come snooping around. Next thing you know, Eve is dead, the babies have been kidnapped, Duane is in jail, and Belial is on a murderous rampage.
The thing to keep in mind about Basket Case 3: The Progeny is that it was made for fans of the first two films, of which I consider myself (of course, the fact that I didn't know this third film existed may indicate I'm not as big a fan as I thought). If you haven't seen either Basket Case movie, I can't imagine you'd enjoy BC3 that much. Yes, it has some fun moments, but the film doesn't do much to explain the relationship between the Bradley brothers, and instead just sort of stars as if the audience is going to know exactly what is going on. In fact, the film begins with the final few moments of BC2, which was helpful, since it has been a very long time since I'd seen it. Even still, I couldn't help but feel that I was watching the entire thing twenty years too late.
Basket Case 3: The Progeny is a fun film, and should entertain fans of Henenlotter's earlier entries in the series, as well as his other cult classic, Frankenhooker. If you haven't seen the first two Basket Case movies, you really don't want to start with this one, but if you've enjoyed the twisted exploits of Duane and Belial Bradley, the you'll enjoy this one as well.
Video:
Basket Case 3: The Progeny is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture quality is very good, with a clean transfer that looks as if it may have been mastered from an original source print. There are no noticeable defects or artifacts, and the colors a crisp and vibrant.
Audio:
Basket Case 3: The Progeny is presented in English in Dolby Digital 2.0. The audio levels are all consistent, with good levels, and clean mix, and no discernible problems.
Bonus Material:
Other than the original theatrical trailer, there are no bonus materials.
Final Thoughts:
If you like horror films that have a twisted sense of humor, some cheesy gore effects, and not much by way of real scares, then you should enjoy Basket Case 3: The Progeny, though you should watch the two earlier films first.