This is the kind of movie that throws you into a world and a situation we know nothing about, and writer-directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein aren’t in a hurry to tell us.
Dad (Emile Hirsch) has sequestered himself and his 7 year old daughter Chloe (Lexy Kolker) in their home. The drapes are duct-taped closed, the door is quadruple-locked, and no one is allowed in or out. They are preparing for or hiding from some ominous event, and the blood dripping from Dad’s eyes make me think it’s not just all in his head, no matter how paranoid and controlling this all seems.
Still, Chloe is a 7 year old girl. She wants to make a friend, to play in the park, to eat an ice cream cone. So when Mr. Snowcone (Bruce Dern) repeatedly parks directly in front of their home, Chloe can’t resist, and all she has to do is wait for Dad to fall into one of his sleeps to make her escape.
But on the outside, it turns out not everything Dad told her is a lie. There ARE bad people – it’s just harder than she thought to identify them. In fact, Freaks is almost the flip side to The Incredibles. I know, I know, that sounds like weird comparison, but you may recall that as we meet the Incredible family, we learn that super heroes have basically been outlawed and this family has been relocated and have to hide their powers to fit in. Chloe’s family also have powers of some kind, and public fear has meant that all the special people are either hiding or relocated or dead, and the government prefers the latter to the former.
The story keeps us firmly within Chloe’s understanding of her own powers and the circumstances in which she lives. She’s understandably frustrated with her confinement and she makes impetuous, chocolate-driven decisions. The directors have crafted a horror-sci-fi hybrid that keeps us guessing, unfolding at Chloe’s pace, not mine or yours or theirs.
Freaks is perhaps a little inconsistent, but it’s boldly directed and surprisingly well-acted. There’s more character development than a dozen other horror films combined and its message is as strong as it is relevant.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
Ooh! I already had this in my queue, but I think this will be our Sat. Night movie this week!
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Yes it’s going to be mine too!
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🤜🏻🤛🏻
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Cheers Jay.
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I’ve passed this one up a couple of times while looking for a movie to watch. Maybe I’ll have to revisit that decision.
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I understand Chloe. I also make impetuous chocolate-driven decisions.
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Sooo… worth viewing or not??
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Eh, maybe.
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“…she makes impetuous, chocolate-driven decisions…”
You could be talking about me…
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I remember hearing once that it’s not so much beneficial to give a woman chocolate as it is dangerous to take it away from her.
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Sounds good!!
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We liked this one too, though the powers did require some extra suspension of belief. 🙂
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That’s what always got me about Heroes and X-Men. How, exactly, do people fly? Is it some sort of super-flatulence?
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Ha. I remember reading once that for a human to fly he would need a huge muscular system attached to the wings and the wings would have to be super gigantic. It ruined the idea of flying humans for me. 😀
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Sounds interesting. Will keep a lookout.
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