Will the 80s ever die? If the grungy aesthetic of Freaky Tales can be believed, the answer is an emphatic no. This stylish indie debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last year, and the ridiculously fun vision of producing/writing/directing duo Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden has finally emerged for audiences everywhere in all its colorful glory! An ensemble cast comes along for the ride, enriching each demented chapter. Fan favorite Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, Game of Thrones) leads a standout segment, whilst Jay Ellis (Escape Room, Insecure) gets to slip on a badass burst of John Wick energy for the finale. Even the narrator has a great time recapping the action. Split into four distinct intersecting stories, Freaky Tales is a “hella rad” ode to the 80s that refuses to wear out its welcome, crackling with the neon electricity of originality.
VHS-infused visuals leap out from the second we begin, promising a retro theme that Fleck and Boden are happy to fulfill. Between waves of fuzzy videotape static and crackles of film imperfections, the vibes are contagious. A snazzy narration reads an opening crawl to set the mood: in 1987 Oakland, a cosmic green glow, utterly unexplainable, lingered in the air. This very same “green stuff” looms over the film at large, constantly peaking out to add a light flare of the supernatural to the proceedings. Four distinct chapters wonderfully intersect in a blaze of fireworks. Each presents an impactful vignette, different enough to not feel repetitive yet cohesive enough to gel into a wildly satisfying whole.
First up: Chapter 1: Strength in Numbers. Super pumped coming out of a cinema screening of The Lost Boys, a trio of friends embrace the fact that they would be the vampires in the movie they just saw. We glimpse a taste of their rivalry with a group of Nazi skinheads—the most deplorable type of people imaginable. These skinheads follow the group to a raucous live concert where they proceed to shove their way inside, beating anything that moves and pissing all over the stage equipment. Something must be done about this Nazi menace, and fast. Strength in Numbers takes a simple concept—a band of punks fight back against Nazi skinheads—and lightens it up with cartoonish violence and a sugary-sweet romance. Jack Champion (Scream VI, Avatar: The Way of Water) sports a mullet, headband, and wifebeater for his turn as Lucid, while his love interest, Tina (Ji-young Yoo, The Sky is Everywhere, Until Dawn), rocks a drastic teased updo and nose piercing. The duo share a cute connection established over just a few scenes, daydreaming in doodle form. The finale culminates in a gory burst of classic Batman sound effects and epic violence.
Next is Chapter 2: Don’t Fight the Feeling. This one was definitely different, but in a refreshing sort of way. Picking up just minutes after that same screening of The Lost Boys, Barbie (Dominique Thorne, If Beale Street Could Talk, Judas and the Black Messiah) and Entice (singer Normani) meet a music idol who actually knows their names. He invites the duo, known professionally as DangerZone, to perform with him later that night. The interplay between Barbie and Entice, especially in a tense sequence at an ice cream parlor with a racist cop, endears them to the audience. The fashion was a definite stand out in this chapter, especially from our leading couple, who both wear fanny packs and track suits. Whilst this segment could easily have come across as cheesy and inconsequential, the rap battle antics make it entertaining. Still, it does feel like an outlier compared to the others.
Chapter 3: Born to Mack brings a vital new ingredient into the mix. Clint (Pascal) heads to a video rental store with his pregnant wife to carry out one last job before officially retiring from his profession. As the situation escalates wildly out of control, a devastated Clint is left to pick up the pieces and find a way forward. This segment is punctuated by a brilliant cameo from an A-list actor; this actor relishes every moment onscreen, brandishing his character’s movie knowledge like a badge of honor. While Pascal’s performance stands as one of the better ones in Freaky Tales, it was a real treat watching this unexpected cameo play out. Notably, while the first two are open and closed, Born to Mack feels unfinished, and would not be as strong without the weight of the final chapter to close it out.
My personal favorite would probably be Chapter 4: The Legend of Sleepy Floyd. A group of thugs—tangentially related to those awful skinheads—makes a clever plan to rob celebrities blind. While the athletes and their families attend an all-star basketball game, the thieves will infiltrate their homes and get into their valuables. In one of his final onscreen roles, Angus Cloud (Euphoria, Abigail) plays Travis, a sneaky individual who has conducted extensive research on the entire all-star team. The narration comes back full-force with this entry, punctuated by clever animation to represent the basketball game at play. NBA star Sleepy Floyd (Ellis) turns to revenge when an attempt to crack his vault goes horribly awry. Riding in on a motorcycle with a katana, Floyd becomes a central pawn that helps to send Freaky Tales out on a grindhouse samurai blaze of glory.
A creative blending of mediums, a charismatic cast, and a touch of the surreal combine for an enthralling, pulpy genre mashup. How refreshing, especially after awards season, to have an unpretentious hybrid that just wants to have fun. The final chapter culminates in a beautiful conclusion that brings these disparate stories to a close in a messy blow of finality. Directing duo Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden cement themselves as creatives with a bold vision to deliver fast-paced, energetic filmmaking. At once a love letter to Oakland, the 80s, and underground countercultures, Freaky Tales should be celebrated for its sheer creativity and unabashed mission statement: “Die, Nazi scum!”
Explore the madness of four Oakland-set Freaky Tales, blasting down to earth in theaters on Friday, April 4th.
