Basket Case (Directed by Frank Henenlotter) 1982

Some horror films are just strange. 'Basket Case' is one of those sordid and downright seedy splatter flicks that I just had to include in my Top 100. There's nothing classy about 'Basket Case,' it's b-movie bubble-gum horror straight from the gutter - the sort of film littered with so many flaws and inept effects and yet time and time again it's weirdness prevails. It tells the story of a chap named Duane who, as people tend to do, likes to carry his mutant Siamese brother around with him in a wicker basket case. Of course, Duane's monstrosity of a sibling is a tad murderous and so, after their reluctant separation at birth - the duo go on the rampage, seeking revenge on those that tried to keep them apart. Of course, the murders are pretty grisly, but it's the sight of Duane's brother that leaves little to the imagination as the pink blob emerges from the case to wreak havoc on the community. The use of stop-motion animation works at times, but those who constructed this vile piece of trash clearly had no intention of winning any Oscars, and so for the most part 'Basket Case' is classic drive-in '80s horror that sits nicely alongside Abel Ferrara's dirty 'The Driller Killer' and Henelotter's other oddity 'Brain Damage'. Thrown in a few hookers, drug dealers and downtown sleaze and 'Basket Case' is nigh on the modern equivalent of David Lynch's bizarre 'Eraserhead,' only less serious and with lashings of gore.

Just imagine the displeasure of the hideous half-formed brother when Duane begins to fall for a local nurse and that's when 'Basket Case' takes an even filthier turn for the worse. So, 'Basket Case' is an acquired taste, one part comic oddness, the other grimy splatter-flick, but either way it's essential horror for those who don't take the genre too serious.