Basket Case 3 (1991)

Synopsis

Basket Case 3 (1991) continues the story of Duane Bradley and his deformed siamese twin Belial. In the previous film, Duane and Belial had settled down in a small town and Duane had fallen in love with a girl named Sharon. However, their peace was disrupted when a reporter found them and tried to exploit Belial. Duane and Belial ended up killing the reporter and fleeing town.

This film picks up with Duane and Belial arriving in a new town and checking into a hotel under assumed names. They are trying to keep a low profile after the events of the last movie. However, trouble arises when a local shopkeeper discovers Belial hiding in Duane’s basket. She calls the police, forcing Duane and Belial to go on the run again.

The Bradley Boys

As the Bradley boys flee through the streets, they encounter two deformed women, Eve and Mimi, who are looking for Duane. It’s revealed that Eve and Mimi are aunts of Duane and Belial – they are the twin sisters of the boys’ father. Eve and Mimi take Duane and Belial to meet their uncle Hal, who runs a sanctuary for deformed people called the Granny Ruth Shelter.

At the Granny Ruth Shelter, Duane and Belial meet various other deformed people that live there, including Little Hal, Uncle Hal’s son who looks like a toddler but is actually an adult. Duane also reconnects with Sharon, the girl he fell in love with in the previous movie. Sharon has become a caregiver at the shelter. Duane is happy to see her again while Belial becomes jealous.

Things seem to be going well, but trouble arises when two residents of the shelter go missing under mysterious circumstances. Duane starts to investigate and learns that a rich woman named Gloria and her boyfriend Bobby are plotting against the shelter. They want to gain custody of Belial for their freak show.

Gloria and Bobby put their evil plans into motion, first kidnapping Sharon to lure Duane and Belial into a trap. This leads to a dramatic confrontation at the Granny Ruth Shelter. Belial ends up going on a rampage, brutally killing Bobby, Gloria, and her henchmen. In the aftermath, Duane decides to stay at the shelter with Sharon and Belial, having found the home and family they’ve been longing for.

The film ends with the residents of the shelter happily celebrating Belial’s victory, accepting the Bradley boys into their community despite their violent outburst. Duane reflects that they’ve finally found where they belong.

Cast

Kevin Van Hentenryck as Duane Bradley
Annie Ross as Granny Ruth
Gil Roper as Sheriff Griffith
Tina Louise Hilbert as Opal Griffith
Dan Biggers as Uncle Hal
Jim O’Doherty as Little Hal
Carla Morrell as Twin #1
Carmen Morrell as Twin #2
Jackson Faw as Bailey
Jim Grimshaw as Baxter

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.

Reviews

A review by TV Guide describes the movie “looks great on a low budget, and although Gabe Bartalos and Dave Kindlon’s special effects and makeup are more clever than convincing, they do a fine job on Belial himself” [4]. A review by Letterboxd describes the movie as “Basket Case 3 continues in much the same vein as Pt 2, with loads of twisted humour, some very silly freaks, and plenty of truly demented scenes” [5]. A review by IMDb describes the movie as “Duane recovers from his delusional breakdown to find his freakish basket-bound brother Belial will soon become a father” [7].