My review was written in February 1992 after a Greenwich Village midnight screening.
Cult status of "Basket Case 3" is assured, but this idiosyncratic midnight horror comedy will find it difficult to obtain new recruits to helmer Frank Henenlotter's camp.
Pic opens with a lengthy dose of footage from "Basket Case 2", detailing se between the two monsters Belial and Eve and the death of Eve's sister Susan. Part three begins with Eve's pregnancy.
Granny Ruth (jazz vocalist Annie Ross) takes Eve, papa-to-be Belial and a commune of unique individuals (i.e., monsters) to a small town in Georgia to stay with Uncle Hal (Dan Biggers), a doctor who will help with the mutant brith.
Ross is reunited there with her grotesque monstrosity of a son (stand-up comic James O'Doherty), while Belial's "normal" twin brother (series regular Kevin Van Hentenryck) gets a crush on the sheriff's pretty daughter (Tina Louise HIlbert).
This minimal plot line is mainly an excuse for eventual clashes between Southern crackers and the lovable monsters, with Eve's litter of a dozen babies stolen by the sheriff's deputies. Climax of Belial in a mechanical contraption battling the sheriff is an obvious homage to "Aliens".
Henenlotter's mix of wild overacting, cartoon color scheme and heavy-handed message regarding tolerance is tough to take for the uninitiated. His fans will enjoy seeing the growing menagerie of creatures, including the cute/grotesque progeny.
Though children might be the target audience for these weird-looking but sympathetic monsters, Henenlotter includes some extremely gory effects as well as a stimulating softcore sex scene when Belial dreams of dallying with two voluptuous twins (the impressive Carla and Carmen Morrell).
Van Hentenryck, identified with the "Basket Case" films for a decade, acts way over the top, while Ross literally dominates the film with her intensity and gets to lead the monsters in a sing-a-long of the golden oldie "Personality". Heroine Hilbert makes a good impression in a Jekyll & Hyde role.
Creature effects by Gabe Bartalos and David Kindlon are quite inventive.