'Freaky Tales' Review: Buckets of Blood and Fun Performances
- Jack Ransom
- Apr 15
- 3 min read
By Jack Ransom - April 15, 2025
A gloriously welcome eccentric throwback. Freaky Tales delivers four interconnected stories set in 1987 Oakland, CA. which tell about the love of music, movies, people, places and memories beyond our knowable universe… oh yeah, and plenty of Nazi killing.
This is going to do absolute gangbusters on the late night, cult, grindhouse and indie cinema circuit scene. Honestly, this is purpose built for a late-night crowd hyped for craziness or midway through a marathon in the twilight early morning hours. I knew very little about this going in and was even more surprised to see it was helmed by co-directing duo Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (who directed dramas such as Half Nelson & Mississippi Grind, and of course the billion dollar grossing Captain Marvel), who are clearly relishing being released from the big budget studio net.
The anthology genre is one I am always intrigued with. Dreams, Grindhouse, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs & Twilight Zone: The Movie I have enjoyed (Trick ‘r Treat is also long overdue a rewatch). However, despite loving some of their concepts and vibes, features such as Creepshow, Four Rooms, The French Dispatch & Deadtime Stories (the latter of which is genuinely interminable) I found myself struggling to be invested in.
Freaky Tales finds itself in the upper echelon of anthologies and effectively intertwines its four chapters together with the power of the mysterious green energy and a screening of The Lost Boys. It drips in 80’s-stalgia and Twilight Zone/X-Files atmospheres that I found myself very much wrapped up in.
Strength in Numbers: The Gilman Strikes Back
Very much a homage to The Warriors in its presentation. This first tale sees the rivalry between the welcoming, rowdy, good-spirited chaos of the Alternative/Punk scene vs. the bald, brutal and bigoted Nazi scumbags that persistently hound them. Its straightforward, establishes the tone of the flick effectively, nails the excitable optimistic energy of 80’s punk, manages to tap into some still (unfortunately) timely themes and leads to riotously gory and brutal finale brawl.
Don’t Fight the Feeling
From the frantic world of punk rock to the groovy, slick hip-hop battle arena. This tale follows hip-hop duo and best friends: ‘Danger Zone’ as they take to the stage and unleash their rhymes and earn the respect of their audience and peers. It tones down the chaos for an emphasis on the power of beats and bars to overcome discrimination and sexism. Normani and Dominique Thorne have great chemistry, and Ben Mendelsohn ups the sinister creep factor as ‘The Guy’.
Born to Mack
Pedro Pascal delivers a balance of blunt wit and stoic bleakness as Clint, who is desperate to leave his world of crime and settle down with his wife (and mother to be). He visits a video rental store for his (alleged) final job, of which he is faced by a glorious cinematic
gatekeeper in Tom Hanks’ video store employee who quizzes Clint on his top 5 “underdog” flicks.
The Legend of Sleepy Floyd
The final chapter offers up glorious b-movie bonanza of ninja injected, samurai bloodshed as the titular Sleepy Floyd (Jay Ellis) unleashes his visceral revenge by butchering every Nazi that gets in his way. Its a real crowd-pleaser in the gore department and offers up an extremely literal ‘Fist of Fury’ at one point. It also does a great job of tying all the tales together in a satisfying way.
Freaky Tales was a surprising gem that will no doubt please fans of 80stalgia, cult flicks and geeky move trivia. It’s paced well, has a suitably off-kilter vibe, buckets of blood and fun performances. It may tread familiar ground at points, but its celebratory love for the material overshadows these aspects.
Freaky Tales is in select cinemas from 18 April and on digital platforms from 28 April
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