She Freak

Bored diner waitress Jade (Claire Brennen) joins the carnival in search of excitement, where she quickly worms her way into the affections of wealthy freak show manager Steve St. John (Bill McKinney), the carnival's most eligible bachelor. After a whirlwind romance, and a short engagement, the pair get married, but it's not long before Jade is out seeking thrills with loutish ferris wheel foreman Blackie (Lee Raymond), who happily gives her a ride for free. When Steve learns from pal Shorty that his wife is banging Blackie, he confronts the uncouth carnie, only to get a knife in the belly for his troubles. As a result, delighted Jade inherits her late husband's lucrative business, but her hatred and mistreatment of the sideshow's exhibits means it not long before the ruthless ex-waitress gets served her just desserts.

She Freak, a virtual remake of Tod Browning's 30s horror classic Freaks, opens with a solid five and a half minutes of carnival footage—shot after tedious shot of carnies plying their trade to happy punters—before eventually getting down to telling a story. Throughout the film, director Byron Mabe continues to make maximum usage of his carnival setting, regularly interrupting the action with further prolonged shots of people risking their lives on rather precarious looking fairground rides while eating unwholesome food purchased from dodgy concession stands. Strip this excess of colourful padding from this cheapo drive-in garbage and there really isn't a whole lot left—certainly nothing to get your average exploitation/horror fan excited about.

Considering the film was produced by trashmeister David F. Friedman, whose filmography boasts such legendary titles as Blood Feast, Two Thousand Maniacs!, Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS, and Love Camp 7, it should come as no surprise to find that, in terms of style and atmosphere, She Freak is no match for the masterpiece that inspired it; however, it is rather shocking to discover that the film is remarkably light on both sleaze and gore. The bloodletting is limited to an unconvincing screwdriver through the hand during a fight between carnies and there is no sex or nudity to speak of (unless you count off-screen nookie and a few brief glimpses of skin from sexy sideshow stripper Moon, played by Lynn Courtney). Worse still, the film's genuine 'freaks' are limited to one dwarf (Felix Silla, Twiki from Buck Rogers), a sword swallower, and a June Whitfield lookalike who plays with snakes—no match for the collection of genuinely disturbing human oddities that helped make Tod Browning's Freaks such a memorable movie.

Rotgut updating of Tod Browning's carny horror classic is actually not nearly as awful as it could have been...still, just about any quotidian viewer will refuse to endure it til the closing credits. Gorgeous, blonde Claire Brennan(sadly lost to cancer early in her life)portrays a complete and total bitch with a distinct "Bad Seed" approach to getting whatever she wants. When she brings her unscrupulous shenanigans to the mechanical wheel of a roadside carnival, she fitfully receives her come-uppance at the hands of the sideshow attractions. Her beauty is given way to monstrosity, as she is mysteriously transformed into a half-woman/half-beast with a fried egg eyeball, salaciously fondling a large snake(nice touch!).

Examine the names associated to this one, then reference their other works...I'm sure you'll find that "She Freak" is a cut above most of those other entries. It's overall a fun bit of grindhouse nonsense, but could have benefited greatly from the more gratuitous sex and violence one might expect from a Mabe/Friedman epic.

5.5/10

A "waitress" named Jade dreams of a better life. Her chance at living her dream arrives in the form of a carnival. Indeed, Jade soon becomes a carnival "waitress".

One day, Jade wanders into the freak show tent, and, filled with hatred and revulsion, she sets out to treat them with disdain. As Jade's star rises, she winds up in charge of the entire carnival, unaware that the freaks she so despises have had enough of her tyranny.

Sort of a ham-handed "remake" of FREAKS from Director Tod Browning, SHE FREAK lacks every quality that made Browning's film a classic. It's cheapness is no excuse for the overall dullness of the production.

On the upside, if you love carnivals, this movie does use a near-documentary approach to show carnival operations in all their glory...

The fact that this movie is a rip-off of Tod Browning's "Freaks" should not be construed as a reason to see it. The photography and acting are bottom drawer, the direction is listless and unimaginative, and writing is rarely sly (or at least it's hard to get any good dialogue out of these actors' mouths). There isn't even all that much exploitation footage here.

What is kind of interesting is the picture of carnival life in the 60s (a period of decline for that art form) it provides. Roustabouts, geeks, carneys, all are presented with some sort of versimilitude.

With a stronger lead actress and a more competent cast/director, this film could at least have been a memorable shock-fest. Instead, it's ultimately forgettable.

She-Freak is a remake of Todd Browning's "Freaks" in a way. If you are at all interested in carnivals, carnies, or freaks, I recommend this film. It has a great soundtrack, and hilarious fight scenes. The star is incredibly sexy (until she becomes the She Freak). This is a fine film, and I highly recommend it for any fan of low-budget 1960's horror films.