TheRetroCritic

I remember first hearing that David Lynch had made a TV series. It was crazy clown time. I couldn't wait to check it out. So here we are, 2011, and finally I have allowed myself to sit through the whole first season of Twin Peaks . Was it worth the wait? Oh yes. That Twin Peaks only lasted two seasons is both shocking and unsurprising. Sure it was great but how long could a soap opera satire about dreams, lumber... oh and one little murder last for longer than more accessible shows like Sabrina The Teenage Witch ? Oh 90's, you complicated mistress you... The Twin Peaks Pilot episode gets the show on the road in a dramatic yet positively gloomy way with Kyle McLachlan's jolly detective, strong contender for best guy ever, only popping by about halfway through. The show revolves around the murder of high school student Laura Palmer, it's a whodunit where the usual CSI rules do not apply. It's a show in which birds, coconuts and logs often hold more eviden

Some films are just strange. Not bad, not good: just strange. This is not one of those films. This is bad, really bad AND incredibly strange. This is a kind of bad film subgenre which is always surprising, films which are essentially awful but which have the ability to confuse, gross-out or surprise the viewers nonetheless. The film opens on two identical twins (man and woman) in like the 17th century having sex...with each other. Pretty soon you notice the male twin is played by the same actress as the female twin, but with a moustache. It's at that point that an obligatory frown forms on your brow and you know you're in for something special. But then things get incredibly dull. A whited-up Roy Dupuis is on a boat wearing sunglasses, he has a nosebleed, he is taken in by a group of all-women grave diggers and some alcoholic doctor (Rutger Hauer). Turns out he's looking for the rest of his family (descendants of the sex-twins) etc... Yeah, the plot's absurd. So

Basket Case may be a one joke movie, but what a joke it is. Guy carries around a basket with a monster in it (well...brother...long story) and the monster is sent off to kill a bunch of seedy doctors. It's a revenge movie with horror, drama, romance, monster rape: it's got it all! This first instalment is very low budget so expect something gritty looking and very DIY in its approach but there's plenty of fun to be had with the use of stop-motion animation, entertaining comedy side characters and loads of blood...oh and one of the longest (read: pointless) and most elaborate flashbacks you're likely to see. The mystery shrouding the basket itself during the first half hour is actually pretty clever in the way it's handled. The anticipation is nail-biting and the reveal: delightful! The murders are as wacky and colourful as you'd expect and although the story is pretty slight and the acting mostly dire it's all worth it just to get to the odd