Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

BASKET CASE 2 picks up right where the plot of the first movie left off. This time around, Duane and his deformed brother find shelter with "Granny Ruth", a woman who has dedicated her life to take care of those "freaks" that otherwise find no place in society.Just as with its predecessor, the movie focuses on the theme of social rejection and "trying to fit in". The sequel is more comedic, more actively making fun of itself. There's some better make-up effects but also, just as was the case before, some really tacky ones as well. Overall, this movie has some light-hearted fun to offer while at the same time succeeding in asking some deep questions about the nature of our society.What I found most enjoyable was Annie Ross's performance as Granny Ruth, which was hilariously over-the-top. She's quite a character in the movie and certainly carries it at times. Comparatively speaking, Duane and his brother play less of an important role this time, as the story branches out to include more characters and more "freaks".Go and watch it if you liked the first installment of the series.

Basket Case 2 (1990) ** (out of 4)Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck) and his deformed brother managed to survive the ending of the previous film. After they escape their hospital room the duo are taken in by a woman (Annie Ross) who gives shelter to the deformed. Once at their new home the two try to settle in with other freaks but a pesky news woman (Judy Grafe) won't leave them alone.BASKET CASE wasn't the greatest movie ever made but it contained a certain atmosphere and a certain look at the sleazy side of New York City that it was impossible to ignore. This sequel had a much bigger budget, is a lot less sleazy and has a completely different look but it's unique enough to where it's entertaining in its own way. Director Frank Henenlotter certainly doesn't like making "normal" movies and this one here has enough strangeness for two films.Again, if you're expecting the look or feel of the original then it's best that you don't even bother with this sequel. What I enjoyed most is that they try to make this sequel pick up exactly where the original left off, which isn't something a lot of films try. I think for the most part it works but, again, it was impossible for them to get the look of the first film simply because times had changed by the time this was made. The deformed creatures here are also a lot different in that each of them has a terrific look, although none of them will be mistaken for humans. The special effects are excellent and you truly get some great imaginations at work with the creature design.Performances are actually better than you'd expect with Van Hentenryck doing a very good job in the lead. Fans of DAWN OF THE DEAD will be happy to see David Emge playing Moon Face. BASKET CASE 2 features some pretty tame violence up until the ending, which I won't spoil but it packs a nice little punch.

Everyone's favourite surgically-separated Siamese-twins, Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck) and Belial, return for more freakish fun in Basket Case 2, in which the brothers escape from hospital (after their near fatal fall in the first film) and find sanctuary at the home of 'Granny Ruth' (Annie Ross), who runs a haven for the physically deformed. Meanwhile, a reporter working for the gutter press is hoping for a major scoop by tracking down the brothers' whereabouts...Frank Henenlotter's sequel to his demented debut Basket Case once again displays a very unique vision and some incredibly dark humour, but made on a bigger budget, and away from the the original's 42nd Street locale, it lacks the trashiness, sleaziness and general grubbiness that gave the original film much of its charm.Also serving to weaken the film somewhat is the collection of grotesque freaks that reside at Granny Ruth's place, who include a buck-toothed, floppy eared creature, a frog-headed man, a living gargoyle, and one monstrosity with teeth as big as planks; these creations are inventive, but way too silly looking and childish in their mannerisms to be unsettling.Fortunately the positives outweigh the negatives: the cast pitch their performances perfectly, imbuing the film with just the right level of deranged lunacy; there are some inspired touches of twisted humour (gotta love the disabled badge on Granny Ruth's van and Belial's hilarious sex scene); and Henenlotter manages to deliver quite a few effectively macabre moments, my favourite bits being a meeting between Duane and a reporter in an Irish bar that doesn't go as planned for the newsman, a photographer's unexpected encounter with the freaks in Granny Ruth's attic, Duane coming face-to-face with a 'baby' that refuses to be born, and a suitably disturbing finale that sees the psychotic siblings joined together once again.

I remember being disappointed with this when I first viewed it and revisiting it nearly 20 years later brings about the same feeling. The film picks up right where the first one left of with Duane Bradley (Kevin Van Hentenryck) being attacked by his mutant brother and falling out the window of his Times Square flophouse. Naturally, this is big news and Granny Ruth (Annie Ross), a friend of Duane's aunt, goes to rescue him from the hospital. She brings the duo back to her mansion where she houses a variety of freaks.Frank Henenlotter's follow-up is obviously a bigger affair with a nice budget from James Glickenhaus, but this sequel fails to pack the sleazy punch of the first film. Part of the problem for me is the other freaks. They are just too corny and, I can't believe I am saying this, unrealistic. I can accept a mutated mass of flesh like Belial. But a guy with 27 noses or a huge mouth that sings opera? Too much. I do applaud Henenlotter for bringing Van Hentenryck back and Ross is good as Ruth. My favorite character though is freakshow owner Lyle Barker (Jan Saint). He is the only one who carries over that air of realistic sleaze from the first film. "Trash, low life, scum!"