Simply Perfect

Did you people see the same film I saw?

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Carnival Barker: Ladies and gentlemen, you're about to behold a sight so strange, so horrifying, so utterly monstrous, that I urge you who are easily frightened or upset, who suffer from nervous disorders, weak hearts, or queasy stomachs, who experience nightmares, and any children under the age of 16, to forgo witnessing this exhibit. There are only two kinds of freaks ladies and gentlemen. Those created by God, and those made by man. The creature in this pit is a living breathing human being that once was... well, that's another story that happened a long time ago, a long way from here. Look if you must. I can't believe I looked!

"She Freak" is a very low-budget remake of the classic Tod Browning film "Freaks" (1932). Considering "Freaks" might be one of the scariest and most arresting horror films ever made, doing a sequel is a tall order. And, with a budget of only about $65,000 it's a sure bet it's not even close to the great quality of the original. But, despite its obvious deficits, is this a good film to watch? Well, let me get to a few other things--then tell you about the value of the movie as entertainment.As for me, I had a bit more interest than the average person because of its connections to where I live. The film talks about Tampa and Sarasota (the home of many, many freak show and circus entertainers) and even though it was filmed in California locations, it talks about folks who, in some cases, still live within minutes of my home. Too bad you really only get to see the general trappings of the carnival--not the acts.One thing you might want to know before you watch it. While "She Freak" is a low-budget film marketed by Something Weird Video, it has no nudity and the film is acceptable viewing for just about anyone. I say this because many of the Something Weird films have a lot of 1960s soft-core nudity. This film does talk about strippers and has a few racy scenes but you really don't see anything more than you'd see on a beach.And, finally, the diminutive star of the film, Felix Silla, is still alive and travels occasionally to nostalgic conventions--such as comic book, sci-fi, horror and fantasy conventions. And why do folks want to see him? Well, it's NOT because of "She Freak". He was the guy underneath all the hair playing Cousin Itt on TV's "Addams Family" as well as in the movies.As for the quality of the remake, it is an obviously padded film. There are WAY too many musical montages that are obvious filler and make the film look cheap (which it is). However, oddly, the acting is not at all what you'd expect from this sort of film. Now I am NOT saying that you'll see a Laurence Olivier-type of performance here by any of the actors--but for the money, it's actually quite good.The film stars Claire Brennan as a conniving lady who is bent on striking it rich but has very humble origins. When the movie starts, she's working as a waitress in a greasy spoon (a cheap diner). Then, she gets a chance to work with a traveling show--and she very deliberately looks for a man with money to marry. Now you'd THINK that a lady who is this driven to make money would pick something better than a traveling carnival! Regardless, despite her marriage to the guy running the so-called 'freak show', Claire is wild and spends a lot of her free time having sex with a variety of guys. And, she treats the guy she marries like dirt, as she's basically a selfish and nasty lady--and she has contempt for the folks working for her husband. Eventually, her sleeping around leads to disaster--the husband is killed and his 'freaks' are angry and exact revenge on her for her wicked ways.While this film superficially is "Freaks" it is different in several important ways that destroy the film's impact. First, although this was made with a traveling carnival, very few 'freaks' are in the film. Aside from Silla, everyone else looks pretty normal and they use makeup to make them appear abnormal. "Freaks" deliberately showcased some of the most distasteful and frightening sideshow acts--human torsos, 'pinheads' and the like. So, there is no emotional impact--especially at the end. Second, and to me this is the most serious problem with the remake, the entire plot involving the horrible woman marrying one of the 'freaks' has been eliminated--sanitized and dull is the result. This is odd considering that in real life, Brennan WAS sleeping with Silla--they had an affair that lasted many years and she bore his child! Incorporating this would have been fascinating. Instead, there is no love interest between her and a midget.So is it worth watching? Well, maybe. While I STRONGLY recommend the original, for what it is, "She Freak" is entertaining and well done considering the budget. Not great...but of interest to bad movie buffs and those who love low-budget schlock.

It makes carnivals really, really, really dull. Really. The most interesting thing for me, a boomer kid, was reminiscing about the fashions and decor of the era, and noticing how freak-show signs never seem to change.We didn't need the extolling at the outset of the film to realize that the producer probably was getting a big chunk o' change from the West Coast Shows carnival to make this film. I mean, for pity's sake, as has already been mentioned here, the scenes of the carnival in which NOTHING HAPPENS are mind-bogglingly frequent and long. But it certainly did the carnival no favors to have five minutes here and seven minutes there and another five minutes here of these scenes, because they're things like the same shots of the same rides, or the same shots of the same signs, or people standing next to trucks and smoking, or people putting ride parts on trucks or taking them off, or even, heaven help me, Jade, the main character, clearing debris off picnic tables. If this had been my experience of the carnival when I was a kid, I'd have been in tears asking my parents to take me home NOW.And for the grownup seeking some titillation in Moon's "topless" dancing, well, caveat emptor. There's a question mark on her sign for a reason.If anyone wants to know what it was like working in the actual West Coast Shows, there is a site by the (late) Amazing Vanteen, who played Mr. Babcock and also one of the killers, which details his life with that show. He briefly discusses the making of this film as well.The attempted rip-off of Browning's "Freaks" is shameless and futile. For all of Jade's trembling hatred for the freaks, we don't see many of them. We have the odd-talent people, who only marginally qualify for this sad label. The closest to the classic definition of a sideshow freak is Shortie (and the oddest thing to me about Shortie is that he didn't grab that bottle of booze while Blackie and Pretty-Boy were duking it out by the trailer under which Shortie was hiding). The finale, of course, is total theft, although the details of the transfiguration constitute a more plausible end to Jade than the Browning ending provides. Whatever revolted viewer satisfaction there might be in the revenge is, however, I think undone by Greasy's reveling in Jade's undoing. We have no reason to think he is not as despicable as she is, after all.Anyway, save yourself a wasted afternoon. This is no cult classic, kids.

Opening as it does with an encomium for Bobby Cohn, one of the leaders of the North American Carnival Industry, 1967's "She Freak" at times comes off more as a tribute to life on the midway than a grisly horror film. In it, we are introduced to Jade Cochran (lamely portrayed by Claire Brennen), whose waitressing job in a jerkwater greasy spoon is so dispiriting that her new gig cleaning tables at a traveling carnival seems like a step up. Jade soon sets her sights on the owner of the carnival's freak show, despite her aversion to those poor people, and with her curvy figure, toothy smile and blonde good looks (indeed, Brennen here looks very much like the young Joni Mitchell), has no trouble roping him in. But anyone who has seen Tod Browning's 1932 masterpiece "Freaks" and knows of Olga Baclanova's fate in it (or who has seen the trailer reel that precedes every movie from Something Weird) can guess what happens next. "She Freak" is only 83 minutes long, but at least half its running time consists of padded footage of roustabouts setting up the carnival or tearing it down, or of customers walking around or Jade wandering about. Unlike "Freaks," which shocked and amazed audiences with its large cast of real-life biological sports, "She Freak" offers basically only one of "Nature's mistakes" in the form of Shorty (!), a Stetsoned little person. Still, somehow, the picture manages to barely hold one's interest, and features beautiful color photography (well captured on this surprisingly pristine-looking DVD from those miracle workers at Something Weird) and even some interesting directorial touches from Byron Mabe. Basically, though, the film is junk. Viewers interested in seeing a superior updating of "Freaks" would be better off checking out the British film "The Freakmaker" (1973), which is much more, uh, freaky and a lot more fun.