Freaked

This movie probably didn't make much but this is funny & stupid at the same time. There are many camoes by famous stars. Keanu Reeves as the dog boy, once again, co-staring with A. Winter from BILL & TED movies. B. Shields appears in a weird role & R. Quaid is hilarious here. There's awesome make-up effects. MR. T in a bizarre role 2. this is a must see who like 2 see cheesy yet funny movies. Plus, 2 my delight, I found out that this movie is in THX. So if u can blast it in your Dolby Digital Surround Sound THX theater system. its a blast.

I was part of a test audience for this movie. I thought that the version that they showed us was MUCH better than what was actually released. Unfortunately, they must've changed it based on the comments of the oh-so-intellectual psychology grad students sitting in front of us. I rolled my eyes as they talked about the immaturity of the film and sight gags. Hello? If the movie is titled "Freaked" (or at the time "Hideous Mutant Freaks"), it's not going to be a historical drama. Gimme a break, this movie was full of funky good/bad jokes which had me howling! It's really too bad that this movie wasn't released a few years later, given the success of Dumb & Dumber, et cetera. It is good for what it is, a movie for people with warped senses of humor.

"Freaked" is pretty abnormal slapstick; an exercise in bad taste and definitely not intended for all audiences to see. Only if you have high tolerance for vulgar pranks, over-the-top performances & effects and really dumb situations, you might end up liking…probably LOVING this junk. This type of "humor", as we'll refer to it, can't really be compared to anything – not even the "Bill & Ted" movies – as it's obscene, mad as hell and extremely offensive. And yet, this is only obvious on the surface, since the screenplay also contains much more effective jokes and occasionally terrific satire towards showbiz and typically American vanity. Alex Winter plays the overly pretentious and greedy movie star Ricky Coogan, who reluctantly accepts a job as spokesman for a giant industrial company. His first mission is to travel to South Africa and promote this dubious company's most recent product – a lethal chemical called Zyglot – but, instead, he and his friends are captured by a grotesque freak-show owner and get turned into circus attractions themselves. Ricky and his partners in misfortune attempt to escape the mutant farm, which leads to all kind of indescribably insane situations. It's downright hilarious to see how major Hollywood stars parody themselves, like Mr. T as the bearded lady or Brooke Shields as the dumb talk show hostess. Several other gags made me laugh so hard I nearly had tears in my eyes! At one point, the freaks try to escape by ALL dressing up like milkmen! Can you imagine what a giant worm or a life-sized sock-puppet look like in a milkman outfit? Some of the grotesque special effects are courtesy of Screaming Mad George, so you can be sure they're impressive. Apparently it was Keanu Reeves underneath the wolf man make-up, yet I only discovered that after looking up the film here on this site. So, YES, the make-up is great! Excellent stuff, but be careful to whom you recommend it!

I feel priveleged to have this obscure gem in my collection. A scant cruise through my grocery store video rental some six years ago had me rent two films (both with the Melissa Joan Hart-like Megan Ward, oddly enough): "PCU" and "Freaked". I enjoyed PCU, but was taken aback by the colorful crudeness of Freaked. From the opening ClayMation/Henry Rollins fusion to the numerous B cameos (find me another film with all of Brooke Shields, Morgan Fairchild *AND* Mr. T and I'll find you a kidney transplant), to the laugh-out-loud sight gags, this film is up there with the very best of 'em.

Freaked is without a drop of pretense. It offers no metaphorical politics, it doesn't use heavy music to influence your heartbeat, and unlike the ZAZ and Mel Brooks films, this one doesn't mug for the punchline. Pre-dating Trey Parker and Matt Stone, its knockdown-dragout consistency of it's joke takes you to a very satisfying end. Proud to know it'll never end up on a snobbish "Greatest Films Of All Time" list, I strongly suggest you experience this American Classic for yourself, regardless the toll it might take.

Zygrot Forever!

One good way to judge a film is considering if they had enough ideas to fill up a feature length film. Alex Winters's Freaked goes above and beyond that measuring system- every scene, every FRAME of this film has something clever or laugh out loud funny in it. To name a few of this film's throw-away gags- Mr. T in a dress, sideshow freaks playing Hollywood Squares (with the skeleton of Paul Lynde in center square), air stewardesses helping terrorists, a two headed chicken, a farting clown (classier than it sounds), Keanu Reeves as a Dogboy, and Calvert DeForest! And that's just the THROW-AWAY gags! The main jokes and characters are even funnier! Even a simple "I Like Ike" sign is used cleverly. The directors (who also created the best Mtv show ever, Idiot Box) are a wealth of idea, and it's a shame this didn't get a major theatrical release. The bad taste humor is actually kept to a minimum (at least by my standards) and I'd recommend this to comedy lovers and special effects make-up lovers everywhere.