
Freaks
If you’ve seen the first Freaks teaser or read the cryptic synopsis, you might be expecting a film filled with curious details and surprises – and Along Came the Devil you’d be right. Freaks was a wonderful and wild surprise that subverted nearly every single expectation I cooked up based on that trailer. The value of mystery and discovery is high in Freaks so while I encourage you to go in knowing as little as possible, for the sake of this review, I’ll touch on some very light plot details.
The movie stars young Lexy Kolker as Chloe. The Room comparisons are unavoidable here as the movie opens with an unkempt Chloe going about her business Blind Spot in the dark, dusty home her father Henry (Emile Hirsch) insists she cannot leave. Why can’t she go outside? At the start, it’s not quite clear but that draw to the ice cream truck run by Bruce Dern’s character that’s parked right outside is overwhelmingly tempting – even if dad insists that going outside could mean risking their lives.
The claustrophobic intimacy of the first portion of the film is strong. Within minutes it’s abundantly clear that Kolker is one incredible find and that she’ll excel Downsizing as the anchor in the film. Her one-on-ones with Hirsch are flawless and seamlessly navigate their mysterious relationship. One minute, Henry is loving and warm, but the next he’s locking his precious little girl in a closet – supposedly for her own safety. But is that really the truth or does he have a more sinister agenda we’ve yet to discover?
Views: 681
Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller
Director: Adam B. Stein, Zach Lipovsky
Actors: Aleks Paunovic, Amanda Crew, Ava Telek, Bruce Dern, Emile Hirsch, Grace Park, Lexy Kolker
Country: USA