By Joe Puccio

Mass media in popular culture is often categorized by the respective decade in which the subject belongs to. In music, grunge rock (Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden) dominated the 1990s. On the small screen, the 1950s are looked back on as the ‘Golden Age of Television’ (I Love Lucy, Father Knows Best, The Honeymooners). And modern technology, with the surge of the internet (the World Wide Web, electronic mail, streaming) is considered to have gone fully mainstream in the 2000s.

While cinema certainly isn’t immune to the same broad classifications as its communications counterparts, an examination of low budget horror arguably results in an even more specific timeframe that spans two decennaries.

In many ways, the mid 1970s through the early 1980s were the zenith for gritty, unpolished, raw fare for the silver screen, beginning with Tobe Hooper’s chilling 1974 masterpiece The Texas Chainsaw Massacre all the way through 1983’s slasher shocker Sleepaway Camp. But when it comes to bona fide fright cult classics, one flick in particular inevitably comes to mind – Basket Case.  

The New York City-set gem, about a young man seeking revenge on the doctors and nurses who performed an against-his-will surgery that separated him from his deformed conjoined twin brother, was the brainchild of Frank Henenlotter, a director, writer, and self-described “exploitation” filmmaker. And although much of the movie’s dark, quirky appeal is a testament to his creativity, it wouldn’t have been possible without its charismatic lead, Kevin VanHentenryck. And despite playing the “normal” brother opposite his basket-encased sibling, ironically, the Michigan-born actor probably felt more of a connection to the creature he carried around in a wicker basket, growing up.

“As a child, I never fit in. I always felt like a fish out of water,” said the multitalented performer during a recent conversation with Generation X Wire. “In my 20s, I was working as a freight elevator operator in New York and two executives got on and one of them was telling the other that he found out he was dyslexic and listed the symptoms he had. As he read them off, I’m thinking I had every one of them. So, I discovered I was dyslexic during this elevator ride.”

The revelation finally made sense of VanHentenryck’s constant struggles in school and even though he was years removed from the classroom, it provided welcome relief. “There’s a learning curve to everything,” he surmised.

VanHentenryck’s road to portraying nerdy Duane Bradley in Basket Case began during a chance meeting with fellow student Ilze Balodis, who went on to play a social worker in the picture, at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Introduced by Balodis to “this guy who makes movies,” the tip led to a part in Slash of the Knife, along with Balodis, in Henenlotter’s pre-Basket Case comedy short. “Several months later, Frank called me up, said he had an idea for another film, and asked if I was interested. He essentially performed the film to me over the phone,” VanHentenryck recalled. “When Frank does a pitch, he gives it a 100% and really goes for it. When he was done, he asked what I thought and I said, ‘sign me up, man.’ What intrigued me about the brother dynamic of Duane and Belial was that they thought of themselves as one person who was cut in half. The telepathic aspect was so cool.”

A modest box office success when it was released in 1982, Basket Case’s cult classic status was cemented after securing a strong following in late-night movie houses, drive-in theaters, and eventually via the booming home video market of the era. It also spawned two sequels, Basket Case 2 (1990) and Basket Case 3: The Progeny (1991), both of which again starred VanHentenryck and were directed by Henenlotter. While he enjoyed working on them, the notable change in tone with a lighthearted, comedy-based feel, was a bit disappointing.

“Had I been consulted, that wouldn’t have been my choice,” he acknowledged, diplomatically. “I would’ve liked to see more development in the relationship between Duane and Belial. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve always wanted to do a fourth film, playing Belial this time, making him into a real character and not just a raving thing.”

Although Henenlotter has no plans for Basket Case 4 on the big screen, VanHentenryck is currently working on a graphic novel version. “Think about it. Eleven baby Belials survived at the sheriff’s office. They’re in their mid-20s. They have partners of various sorts. There are even some grandkid Belials,” he explained, with a smile. “I’ve written a lot of it.”

In addition to displaying his significant dramatic skills in front of the camera, the accomplished artist has proven to be quite the renaissance man. The one-time competitive motorcycle racer – an accident resulted in breaking both ankles and his jaw and a 13-month recovery – has carved out a rather impressive career as a sculptor and even dabbles in photography.

“I went to see a Ken Russell (British director) film called Savage Messiah about a French sculptor named Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, at Carnegie Hall Cinema in New York. They showed a close up of the real carver’s hands working with a block of marble and I was so blown away by the idea of a stone as a plastic medium,” VanHentenryck enthused. “When I saved up enough money, I bought a hammer and three basic chisels, found a rock in the East Village, and set up a work bench under an abandoned railroad track, which is now known as The High Line. The first time that I touched steel to stone, I had what I’d call an epiphany or a revelation and with absolute certainty I knew it was what I was meant to do. It was as if I had angels guiding my hands – and that moment still powers me today.”

Once per year, VanHentenryck teaches a free, two-week, hands-on stone carving course in the Mountain Top community of Hunter, New York. An institution in the beautiful area for nearly 20 years, the Hunter Stone Carving Seminar has become a highly anticipated event each summer. “The town gave us the site on their property and there are 21 blocks of stone with over 300 petroglyphs that have been carved by students over the years that are permanently displayed there,” he shared. “There are photos on the site that everyone can see at https://freehscs.com/.”

While VanHentenryck gave up his motorcycle helmet years ago (“I’m 72 so I think I’d be pushing my luck at this point”), the science fiction enthusiast has no plans to retire from any of his current endeavors or anything else that happens to strike his fancy. “The only reason to retire is if you don’t like what you’re doing. I would never retire from acting or sculpting and I plan to do both as long as I can get on my feet and do them,” he promised. “As for acting – people have a hard time visualizing me as anyone but Duane. I guess I was able to sell Duane enough that that’s who they think I am,” he added with a smirk.

Check out Kevin VanHentenryck’s Hunter Stone Carving Seminar here. (August 18 through August 30, 2025, 10am-5pm, excluding Sunday, August 24)

Follow Kevin VanHentenryck here.