Freaks

Imaginable action mystre

wonderful sci-fi. I need part 2

Freaks_360P

freaky

The filmmakers want us to believe that this is an edgy indie SciFi film from the opening moments but it quickly becomes apparent that this is just another superhero movie. X-Men in a trailer park.

Taking on a well worn mutant story line that's been part of the mighty Marvel universe from day one, where the line between good and bad is hazy grey, "Freaks" is less about showy CGI but more about familial relations. And that's why it works. The daughter, mother, father and grandpa family tree that forms the film is a messy tangle of branches and unwieldy roots, which slowly align as the plot unfolds. Lexy Kolker as single digit aged Chloe, brings a charming naiveté of someone new to life, who might have access to a mysterious super power. The movie rests on her tiny shoulders, and she pulls it off. Whether dealing with her sketchy dad (Emile Hirsch) who may or may not be crazy, or her ghostly mom (Amanda Crew) who may or may not be real, or her sketchy grandpa (Bruce Dern) who may or may not be the neighbourhood ice cream man, Chloe is the central magnet and is damn easy to root for. Adding another late career feather in his well worn acting hat, Dern is devilicious in his rambunctious retiree role, offering equal doses of creepiness and blood line dedication. Chloe's confusing and changing allegiances to her dad and grandpa is a clever device that spices up this top notch thriller. My biggest problem with Emile Hirsch is that he looks and acts like Jack Black. It's distracting. But that's a personal qualm, and one that shouldn't detract from the performance, which is manic good. Yes the story gets a little wacky, after all we are talking about an apocalyptic mutant scenario, so wacky is par for the course. There's enough heart, relatability, and thankfully a lack of superhero posturing (no silly costumes!) to make "Freaks" a winner. Yup.

Tries to poison her dad. Leaves his protection because she wants ice cream. Tells her father she wishes he was dead. We are supposed to have empathy for her?

I saw the movie because I thought that it should be a good movie based on the IMDB rating. But it was a pure disappointing. They wanted to display a new storyline about the innocent freaks, but they even couldn't implement a reasonable visual effect. Everything was awful. If I want to summarize the entire movie in one word "crap".

I really wanted to like this movie. It does start off slow like lots of others have said but the story is ridiculous as well. The acting is not great either. The kid is very annoying and the old man unnecessarily creepy. The story wouldn't have been so bad if they would have not followed the same recipe everyone in movies seems to follow where they keep a damn secret that doesn't need to be kept. The only reason i'm giving this more than three is because of the powers they had. ***Spoiler*** Also the dads powers from my understanding can control time outside of his projected bubble. So literally at any time he could have froze time and relocated to a safe area and proceeded with freeing the mom.

A much awaited sci-fi indie for sure, from early positive festival buzz to a neat trailer to a both pleasantly surprising & slightly underwhelming result. I had my doubts about Lipovsky and Stein, their portfolio is not exactly reassuring, but they have done a great job with little budget (which also, on the flip side, makes the movie feel restrained) & the solid cast, including an impressive performance by the 7 year old Lexy Kolker, helps greatly. "Freaks" is a take on mutant mythos, much like the more shinier "X-Men" movies, but this time freshened up by some different creative decisions in script writing. However, as the story unraveled, sadly, it turned out that the questions asked were more interesting than the answers received. The filmmakers had nailed the world-building during the first half, structuring the plot carefully, giving it piece by piece. Themes like childhood curiosity, extreme parenting & dystopian horrors are explored. The lesser flaw is the pacing, it's a slow-burn long before it is action, but it's never really boring. The big flaw, though, is how actually straight forward and routine the story is, hidden carefully behind the aforementioned world-building. Clever choices, but the resolution/s in the story are therefore less surprising and less impactful. Nevertheless, we have an interesting main hero, Chloe, a 7 years old girl whose head we live in throughout the movie. Most of the characters were decent if a little (or more) clichéic & the performances carrying them - great. For one I feel like Bruce Dern literally never fails. "Freaks" are clothed in a fine cinematography that doesn't exactly excel, but, given the budget, the production design, FX and editing is well done and do not ruin or damage the viewing experience. "Freaks" has a handful of great elements but doesn't quite pack the punch it promises to. Originality is something it seems to possess, but, as the credits are rolling and I put the whole thing together in retrospect, it's more convential than it wants to be. This goes out as a recommendation to the fans of ambitious sci-fi indies, non-Hollywood superhero movies & mysterious little thrillers. My rating: 7/10.