Freaks (2018) - What do we think about it? Brief review.

WHAT WE THINK:

OUR SCORE:

– An interesting film that shuffles some genre stereotypes.

JUST A FEW WORDS (IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT):

Freaks is an interesting 2018 film that finds its raison d’etre in the mix of different genres: mystery, thriller, drama, but also that blockbuster genre of its own that sees the presence of human beings (or at least beings with a human form) with super-powers.

With distant echoes that seem to come from The Twilight Zone, Freaks is a film that guides the viewer through various and different moods. It takes the perspective of the “Other” and pushes the accelerator down on the social level and on the consequences of the “hunting down” of this “Other”, making the viewer realize how this condition (that of being “hunted”) makes it necessary for the “diverse”to close down and protect himself from what’s outside and use a form of resistance to what can be seen as a normal social life. The film manages to be pleasant despite the unbearable yells of little Chloe (the talented Lexy Kolker).

We believe that the strongest trait of this film is in the fact that, against a really tight budget, it manages to redefine the superheroes genre: in fact, it paradoxically demonstrates that such a film does not necessarily have to be invaded by special effects and that instead it can be based on a more interesting story to reach a broader communicative level while at the same time remaining aimed at the key genre concept that is the entertainment layer (a similar example, even more successful, can be made hinting at the Italian film They call me Jeeg).

Instead, what does not convince us of Freaks is its ending: where the most interesting narrative trait seemed to be the specificity and diversity of the child (within the already-widely-different context) and the urgency of saving her at any cost , the fact that her mom is in all respects something very similar to Superman (so far the film had used different “shades” in terms of superpowers) makes the film conceptually weaker and ultimately empties it from the conflict that until that point it had attempted to build.

PROS:

Inventive.
Mix of genres.
The “Others”.
The Twilight Zone?

CONS:

Ending.
The Other as someone who has powers to hide the film’s social allegory? Why not use a braver path?

What do you think of this film? Please leave a comment below and let us know!

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GENERAL INFO:

Freaks (2018) Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi | 105min | 13 September 2019 (USA)

6.7

Director: Zach Lipovsky, Adam B. SteinWriter: Zach Lipovsky, Adam B. SteinStars: Emile Hirsch, Bruce Dern, Grace ParkSummary: A seven-year-old girl, Chloe, who lives with her father, was told that the outside world was dangerous and was spending lonely days in her house. One day, she left the house while her father was asleep, and she was approached by an old man in an ice cream truck standing in front of her house. The old man, who is Chloe's grandfather, tells him about the fact that Chloe's mother is alive and the mysterious power he has. Chloe, who was scolded by her father for going out, awakened her special ability by raising her emotions. The ability was a very dangerous thing to manipulate a person's mind. Chloe works with a grandfather and a father with different abilities to rescue a detained mother. Written by Linda Jenkinson