Over three decades since its initial release, underrated bizarro masterpiece Freaked finally gets the overstuffed, magically wonderful 4K treatment it so rightfully deserves. Alex Winter and Tom Stern’s mutant satire—once misunderstood, mishandled, and prematurely discarded—always deserved so much more. Perhaps blowing up once it hit video rental and cable stations wasn’t what they initially had in mind. When one thinks of an average studio “comedy,” they would probably not arrive at this 1993 gem, which most certainly eludes playing it safe. The wildly ambitious, handcrafted explosion of absurdist comedy, body horror, and anti-corporate sentiment could only have hatched from the twisted minds behind MTV’s short-lived but much beloved The Idiot Box. From the moment David Daniels’ melting amalgamation of opening titles erupt onto the screen, Freaked proudly announces its unhinged creativity. From there, it only gets wackier. An outrageously cartoony nightmare featuring jaw-dropping special effects work, Freaked probably should have been titled Hideous Mutant Freekz. But years later, even the most hardcore fans will get stiff rodneys from this three-disc set, containing hours of bonus materials, makeup tests, behind-the-scenes commentary, alternate cuts, and much, much more. Inject Zygrot-24 straight into your veins for this zany 90s time capsule that feels just as timeless as ever before.
Welcome to The Skye Daley Show, hosted by Skye Daley (Brooke Shields) herself! Today’s program has a very special guest: Ricky Coogan (Winter), a former movie star who faced an awful downfall. Ricky acts as the narrator, and from time to time we stop to check back in on him, Skye, and her live studio audience. His face remains hidden in shadow, but looks warped and disturbing enough to stay that way. Ricky pulls us in instantly as he recounts a twisted ordeal orchestrated by the Everything Except Shoes Corporation. The company offers Ricky five million dollars to endorse speciality fertilizer Zygrot-24, and he must travel to the distant South American spot Santa Flan immediately. CEO Dick Bryan (William Sadler) gets the approval of the whole board, courtesy of their puppet strings that he controls.
Right off the bat, Ricky is outwardly dislikable, a charasmatic douche with little sympathy for anyone outside of his immediate social circle. He brings along his best friend, Ernie (Michael Stoyanov), a perhaps slightly less but almost equally terrible person. Ernie sports a funky 90s hat, and always tries to prank people. Ricky’s annoying redheaded, bucktoothed child fan, Stuey (Alex Zuckerman), comes along for the plane ride, begging Ricky to sign something for him. Even with Stuey bemoaning Ricky’s sudden connection to the controversial Zygrot-24, it bears no effect on Ricky. Early on, Winter and writing partners Tim Burns and Tom Stern (who also co-directs), establish the cartoonish reality of Freaked. Somewhere between Stuey being hit by a flight attendant, accidentally pulling a lever that causes him to fly out of the plane, and an old handicapped man that gets sucked out before the attendant closes it back up, we have been firmly rooted in the madcap orbit of the creators’ warped minds.
It takes only minutes after landing in Santa Flan for Ricky to hop into disguise, anxious to woo gorgeous protestor, Julie (Megan Ward). Ricky and Ernie offer Julie a ride, and the trio head off—but they make a surprise pit stop at Freek Land. After seeing some interesting carnival signs, their detour comes with the expectation of ogling at some freakish sights. Instead, they meet proud freakshow owner, Elijah C. Skuggs (Randy Quaid), who claims that Freek Land is “home of nature’s most repulsive mistakes.” It doesn’t take long for the place to live up that claim, either; Skuggs offers the trio a private exhibit, as their visit falls outside normal business hours. Little do they know, Skuggs intends to transform them into vibrant new additions to his troupe. From the second we set foot into Freek Land, outlandish, vividly realized sets leap out at the viewer, including a giant head of Skuggs that seems to ominously police over the property.
Freaked quickly becomes a showcase of pre-CGI effects artistry. Screaming Mad George’s creature designs, supplemented by a massive team of effects artists including Tony Gardner, and lead effects makeup artist Bill Corso, feel even more astonishing in 4K. Ernie and Julie merge together as two parts of the same whole, at once becoming claymation concoctions before settling on a siamese twin look. Ricky’s transformation—nasty, oozing boils, facial deformities, freakish ears, and foam-rubber grotesquerie—may be one of the most ambitious live-action body-horror makeups of the era. The image clarity reveals just how tactile and handmade everything is, from seams to textures. A giant outhouse channels production designer Catherine Hardwicke’s creativity, using forced perspective to give the freaks a sort of prison home in Skuggs’ complex. All of that occurs well before gun-toting rasta eyeballs emerge to keep the freaks in place.
The assortment of freaks and their dynamic represents the beating heart. The only other time I can recall falling so deeply in love with a roster of “freaks” was in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story: Asylum. The ones here range from hilariously silly to endlessly charming. The supporting freaks include: Keanu Reeves’ deadpan half-dog Ortiz the Dog Boy; the existentially miserable Worm (Derek McGrath); Nosey (Jeff Kahn), his face comprised of a giant nose; Cowboy (John Hawkes), a humanoid hick cow that’s also a cowboy; sock-puppet headed Sockhead (Bobcat Goldthwaite); the Eternal Flame (Lee Arenberg), whose ass quite literally flames eternally; Rosie the Pinhead (Patti Tipp); Paul Lynde as… simply a skeleton; and the most random yet somehow perfect casting choice of all: Mr. T. as the Bearded Lady. This motley crew gives the new trio a warm enough welcome, though seem less than hopeful to ever escape their situation. As Skuggs schemes to obtain more Zygrot-24 in a means to transform Ricky into the “ultimate freak,” Ricky and company must find a way to escape before they remain trapped forever in Freek Land.
Revisiting Freaked today, the concepts held within were truly ahead of their time. Beneath the twisted humor lies a sincere affection for outsiders, and a rejection of corporate slop. The film always sides with its monsters. The jokes come fast and furious, and are frequently brilliant. The clashing tones only adds to the irrisisteble movie magic. Doing double duty as a co-director, Winter’s striking look as the freak-ized Ricky leads to a compelling performance layered with a stoner edge. Quaid could not be more perfectly cast as the absolutely unhinged Skuggs. Stoyanov and Ward, who share virtually all of their scenes together, play up the slapstick element with a committed vibrancy. Goldthwait’s Sockhead tends to steal the show with his lovable cuteness—how could any crowd boo him offstage? Zuckerman’s Stuey, appearing as a phantom psychic connection to Ricky, steals the show as we head into the finale. Preposterous villains are aplenty, and as the head of the EES corporation, Sadler does not hold back. Freaked ultimately morphs into an ensemble piece with every part feeling essential to the greater whole. The jet-black humor may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but boy does it ever have a distinct point of view.
The 4K release’s special features are nothing short of exhaustive. Multiple behind-the-scenes featurettes collectively document a production driven by chaos and collaboration—imagine losing Mr. T. because he walked off with just days of filming remaining? Highlights capture the playful insanity of the set, whilst transformation reels showcase the artistry and physical toll of foam rubber effects. Many of these features are unfiltered and a complete joy, though some may be purely for die-hards only. There are also multiple 2025 interviews includes in the mix, with Alex Winter, Tim Burns, Tom Stern, effects artists, Catherine Hardwicke and more, pushing Freaked as a misunderstood passion project rather than a failed studio oddity. The practical nature of the design and effects work feels increasingly rare in an era of digital excess. If anything like this was made today, would it just all devolve into computer-generated mumbo jumbo? Would they be daring enough to have Brooke Shields in seriously disgusting leg prosthetics?
Perhaps most interesting for me was a rehearsal cut of the film, packaged alongside a workprint. While the workprint integrates a couple great scenes including a wheel of fortune, it also manages to feel a bit raunchier and more explicit. The reheasal features several cast members in costume, playing out the whole film from front to back; there’s a real sense of joy as they are howling in laughter at the better gags. Alex Winter is the only one really in full prosthetics during this, which makes for an interesting juxtaposition amongst the others. For fans of Freaked, this was a fascinating way to experience the movie anew, and to relish in the more preposterous moments of silliness.
If it has not yet become apparent, Freaked is a must-own set for its hours-worth of special features, and a stunning new transfer that represents the unique comedy/horror at its most beautiful. Fun fact: future Wicked director John M. Chu played the Giant Stuey Monster. The increased resolution enhances the handmade charm, making its monsters and surreal production design feel even more alive. A fever dream satire and a twisted horror movie filled with some of the most laugh-out-loud ridiculous gags of all time, Freaked has quickly become one of my favorite comedies.
Get Freaked on 4K Blu-Ray, now available from Drafthouse Films and Umbrella Entertainment.
