Freaked (1993)

Too much of everything

That was an excellent one.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Look, I'm gonna throw out some film names here, and if you're into any of them, chances are you'll be into this too:Nothing But Trouble, Terrorvision, Greasy Strangler, Meet The Feebles, Meet The Hollowheads, Street Trash, Forbidden Zone, Frankenhooker...Yes, this can unequivocally be described by words like "stupid" or "crude". But that would be missing the point. You like your films extra-bizarre with a heaping of absurdity on the side? This is gen-x anti-corporate cynicism lumped together with a greasy carnie's hallucinatory visions, deep fried in bizarre, drenched in crude browns and greens. The stale, dated jokes don't matter - they're like a weird crust made out of old crushed-up potato chips. A few even manage to land here and there. Bobcat is maximally obnoxious, and some of the freak characters have literally zero dimension beyond a gag or two. But the SFX are almost as great as Randy Quaid's performance, so it all balances out. Frankly, this is a million miles above most mainstream frat humor both then and now, and a more entertaining piece of cinema than a third of the garbage that actually made it onto the theater screen in the 90s. (The Kilmer/Clooney Batman films immediately spring to mind.) In short: if you were looking for something like this, you will be very happy to have found it.

I don't understand why this film only has a 5.1 rating on this site. I had a great time with it and thought that it would be the general consensus, but I suppose not. Bur regardless of what others thought of it, I felt that was great and very original and definitely entertaining. Not to mention, absolutely hilarious.The special effects in this one are wonderful. I really was amazed by all of the creatures. The story is quirky and fun but the only problem for me was that it didn't seem to be quite long enough. I wanted a bit more than I got. Other than that, it was really funny and enjoyable and I think it'll be one of my favorites in the years to come.I'm a big fan of movies about carnival freaks so naturally, I loved this one. I urge you to give it a chance and vote it up on this site! It deserves a higher rating!

Freaked. What can I say. This movie is so funny in it's unconventional weird humor that most people probably won't get it. i don't like dumb humor. Adam Sandler movies suck. Same with dumb teen sex comedies. This movie does have stupid humor in it, but at the same time some of it is just downright genius. I've been watching this movie since I was 12 years old (now 23) and just thinking of some of the stuff in this movie will make me laugh out load. This movie seriously lead the way for Adult Swim shows, and if you like AS you'll love this movie. It is so off the wall. The milkmen thing is so funny. and of course "Styrofoam cup" is classic. Please find this movie. Or don't. I really don't care either way. Because the people who love it will share a bond that most of the world will never know

Freaked was buried when it was finished. Mainly because the Studio just didn't like it, and you can see why, looking back to that time it's a movie that really was pushing some boundaries, and as the writers said during the commentary, they really were left to their own devices on this movie. It also supposedly didn't test screen well (mind you what decent movie does nowadays?), and so the death bell was tolled. Finally though, through some miraculous and persistent fans, as well as the creators themselves, it has been given the special treatment on DVD, and what a treatment.Movie The film's story is not really that important, but it's an everyday tale of falling in love and finding redemption in your life. Just via a subplot about being turned into the most hideous and bizarre freak creatures by a strange chemical and an evil genius funded by an equally evil company intent on taking over the world. Yeah...anyway!There are some notable surprises in this movie from the go get, and that's mainly the reuniting of the three guys from Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, yes I did say three. Bill, Ted and the Grim Reaper. Winter plays the lead, the slimy Hollywood actor who's just in it for the money and the girls, Sadler the company exec who exploits him just as much, and Reeves plays...well...a half man, half dog creature, and you know what? He's really good at the role!There are other surprises in the cast with Brooke Shields and the stunning other big role of the freakshow owner, Randy Quaid.The movie's bizarre. Totally bizarre. Following in the vein of joke filled movies such as Airplane, but lacking their pacing, where jokes would be big and built up. In Freaked I found that the jokes were constant, and although they were funny, there was no time to level out and build the humour back up again, consequently I found myself not in hysterical laughter, but giggling and the laughs getting smaller. It's something one of the writers Tim Burns comments on during the extras.Don't get me wrong though, there are some very funny moments like the thirteen milkmen and their fighting, Mr. T as a bearded lady, the towel joke and the beautifully delivered line..."Styrofoam cup".That leads me nicely onto the excellent performance from Quaid. He's superb and screen consuming in this role, he looks perfect for it, and seems to have captured the character without flaw. It's almost as if he's revelling in the character. For his role alone it's worth watching the film.Picture Presented: 1.85:1 The picture is fine, not overly sharp but then there's nothing noticeably negative about it. However the colouring is very reminiscent of the time with harsher, bolder colours throughout and the reds and brighter colours higher on the contrast.Extras Presented: Disc 1: Audio Commentary with Alex Winter and Tom Stern, Behind the Scenes footage, Video interviews with Tim Burns, Deleted Scenes, Art Gallery, Screenplay, Trailer Disc 2: Full length movie rehearsal, Video script readings, Creature Footage, Set Construction Footage, Winters Make up transformation, Two Winter\Stern short moviesNow you have to admit that is great value, just for the audio commentary and the full rehearsal alone. How does it fare for watching though? The Commentary is good, it's insightful and interesting. Some interesting topics are Mr. T's walk off and the whole story behind the Studio dropping the movie, the two are surprisingly pragmatic about it all. They also discuss the actors and their roles, and talk through a lot of the filming and the process on set. Altogether it's quite thorough.Burns turns out to be quite a funny man, his dry wit is something I took to immediately, and he's engaging in front of the camera. With his various conversations and outtakes you can find out some more interesting thoughts on the movie and the writing process. It's a shame he wasn't in on the commentary itself.The deleted scenes are, well, deleted. You can watch them here, but there's not much that adds to the movie, although the Wheel of Fortune moment is quite good.I was surprised by how interesting the full rehearsal was. The picture and sound aren't that great having been filmed on a hand-held, but seeing the actors that you may have held on a pedestal (or at least a higher step than your milkman) are suddenly quite human, and seeing the process in the rehearsal shows you some of the reality of this mystical art of acting. It's interesting seeing how easily these guys are in and out of character. It also made me appreciate some of the other comic moments more than I did when I watched the original movie.The early script readings are, by comparison, dull and repetitive. Something the DVD could well have done without. Winter's makeup tests are quite interesting, if not to see the complex process he went through, and to see him act Richard the Third in costume!Finally the short films are very interesting, and totally unexpected, especially from what you would expect from Winter. Coupled with Stern you can see some moments of inspiration in the first short which I actually enjoyed watching.Overall Freaked is a funny and absurd movie, perhaps not in the laughter league of Airplane, but very close indeed. With an extra packed DVD offering it makes for a great watch, not only for the audio commentary but mainly for the full rehearsal filmed from beginning to end of the script. I enjoyed watching this, and there's enough material here for a few enjoyable repeat watches of the movie as well as enough extras to keep you entertained for an evening or two.