Very Cool!!!

Sick Product of a Sick System

Good movie but grossly overrated

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

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.

The not-so-excellent adventures of toxic chemical company spokesman Alex Winter (as Ricky Coogan) and his pal Michael Stoyanov (as Ernie) are told, in flashbacks, to talk-show host Brooke Shields (as Skye Daley). The beauty appears briefly. Joined by pretty protester Megan Ward (as Julie), the trio are turned into mutant freaks by hairy, hammy Randy Quaid (as Elijah C. Skuggs), in South America (allegedly). Then appears an army of beasts. "Freaked" absolutely shows make-up and special effects can be superior to lame comedy, which certainly wasn't the point being made here. Keanu Reeves sports a great tail. Beauty is only skin deep, but humor goes right to the funny bone.*** Freaked (9/11/93) Tom Stern, Alex Winter ~ Alex Winter, Randy Quaid, Michael Stoyanov, Megan Ward

As a guest on a talk show with host Skye Daley (Brooke Shields), we meet Ricky Coogan (Alex Winter), the 'it' actor of the time, who was hired to be the corporate sponsor for the producers of a dangerous chemical called Zygrot 24. He tells the tale of his trip to South America where he would personally see the results of the chemical, but, instead, he's taken in and 'freaked' by the insane freakshow-owner Elijah C. Skuggs (Randy Quaid). Can Beast Boy. . . uh, Ricky. . . escape and make a return to normalcy? Or is he a cursed freak forever?"Who wants to get Freaked first?" - Where else can you see Brooke Shields, Mr. T, Randy Quaid, Bobcat Goldthwait, Alex Winter, and Morgan Fairchild all in one movie? Okay, these days that might not be so crazy as they're all pretty much washed up and you could pay them travel costs to get them to star. . . but, in '93? Fantastic! Toss in an uncredited Keanu Reeves and you've got yourself a cast! For a film that was pretty much unreleased, it's absolutely great. Simultaneously disgusting, horrific, and absolutely hilarious, Freaked deserves to be placed with the best of the horror-comedies like Shaun of the Dead, Dead-Alive, and Army of Darkness. The writing is crisp and riotously funny, the acting's perfectly fitting for the over-the-top film this is, the dual-direction by Winter and Stern is surprisingly good (surprising as it's often difficult for co-directors on small productions), the effects are excellent, and it all works together to make one of the most hilariously wicked and underseen/underrated films I've ever seen. Highly recommended to, well, anyone! Final verdict: 9/10.-AP3-

Freaked I must say looked like a movie that I'd typically expect to find in the five dollar bin at Wal-Mart, or any other cheap movie bin. However, Freaked seemed to be along the lines of a movie that I thought might be good... Thus, I gave Freaked a chance, and let me just tell you...it was great. Freaked, is full of lame jokes, puns, and just overall fun filth. I suggest you at least rent Freaked once just so you can say you've seen it. It's a very good movie, and worth every moment of insanity, fun, vulgarity, and putrid filth in it. Think along the lines of Monty Python meets... Bad Brains director Peter Jackson, just without all the gore. Pick up Freaked, watch it, love it, and enjoy it. It's very much a movie you'll either love and appreciate, or just come to totally hate.