Freaked

 A thinking man's stupid comedy

Director: Tom Stern & Alex Winter
Release Date: 1 October 1993 (USA)
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 86 min | USA:80 min | 79 min (Netflix edition)

Movies come and go all the time, As do the actor and actress that we see each and every day talking about how they have reached that moment in their career that they will never forget and that it was their moment in time.

Freaked is not that moment for anyone really. Its more so a film that brought in some big named stars just to see what they could do with the star power but at the same time the movie ended up with a limited release and no one ever witnessed the freak show. Until it became a cult classic.

The movie "Freaked" stars Alex Winter as a former child star "Ricky Coogin" who becomes the spokesman for the EES(Everything Expect Shoes) to try and promote the toxic experimental goop called Zygrot-27 which of course has been banned in the US and Europe. Ricky finds himself and his best friend Ernie(played by Michael Stoyanov) in Santa Flan to calm the people and get the EES a good name. They run into a protestor named Julie (Megan Ward) For some odd reason they end up in Freak World that is owned by Elijah C. Skuggs(played by non other than Randy Quaid) Of course Skuggs turns out to be the bad guy and has been turning tourist into Freaks. Thus the adventure of our group becomes one of escaping...

Other wise I dont really know how to explain much else that happens in this movie from start to finish. It does have one of the best roles i have ever seen Randy Quaid in and that is no joke. He was a perfect fit in this film. We also have a few other random actors appear in the film such as Mr T and Brooke Shields. Along with a crazy appearance by "Ted" as a crazy dog man.

The special effects in this movie are some of my personal favorites, its the kind you hardly see these days because of al the computer generated stuff has become so cheap and has taken over hollywood. The costumes and make up are awesome on many of the Freaks( Beast Boy of course) and you also have the typical we didnt try make up (The sockman) but all of the costumes fit so well and just make you laugh or in some cases freak out.

If you like trippy out of this world campy films that might make you think,You should enjoy Freaked. They take little shots at cult films or just do things you may not find in films these days (The Troll character) You may also enjoy seeing how much things have changed and have focused more on CGI than actual costumes(which is a big deal to me but might not be for others) over the years. Of course some people still make cheese some what like this today but its never as good as the 90's

It is on Netflix Instant watch at the time of this rant review so who knows maybe you might get bored and check it out.. Is it a B Reel Classic?

Zombiemania Review

 "............."

Director: Donna Davies
Release Date: January 3, 2008
Rated: Not Rated
Runtime: 57 min


Some of my favorite movies of all time fall under the horror realm of film, Most of which happen to be Zombie features. Such as Night of the living dead and Shaun of the dead(among plenty of others)

One reason for my enjoyment of the zombie movies has to be the look and feel that they swarm you with, The art that goes into what the undead looks like, how they change with time or how everyone looks different. Always amazing and normally that could be a reason to enjoy a zombie film all in its own.

A nice example would be the work done by Tom Savini in Dawn of the dead 1978. He does some amazing work as do other folks that find a living working on the living dead.

Besides having the art feel to a zombie movie most of the time you can find some underlying message in the film which can jump from racial to government power or greed(falling in line with the works from George Romero) You have the option to take your own view on a zombie film, Blood thirsty monsters or are we the monsters?

The little rant that i have been typing is coming from a movie i just watched that is entitled "Zombiemania" it is a documentary from Donna Davies about the impact that zombies have had on hollywood or how hollywood has impacted zombies.

Its very well made talking about Early age zombies to the ones Romero made famous in his films to the new age runners that Snyder has made famous this decade. But the film doesnt focus just no the movies, We actually find some undead in books and video games.

The dead have infected our entertainment.

No doubt about that, I very much enjoy the dead in most every occasion that i find them in(Porn being the odd man out here, Looking at you Porn of the dead)
What really stood out for me was seeing my Favorite Author and one of my Favorite directors both in the same movie, Something that I never really thought i would see. Given my favorite author is famous for his Zombie novels but he still doesn't have the fame i think he deserves. The man being Brian Keene, Author of the book "The Rising"

George A Romero has plenty of screen time in this film to tell his story of how he didnt mean to make the Zombies that are now called "Romero Zombies" and his thoughts on copyrighting material and just some nice little tidbits from the man behind the undead.

Max Brooks of World War Z fame also has plenty of time to talk and i must say he is a funny guy and knows how to speak to the camera when he is given the time. If you dont own World War Z or The Zombie Survival Guide, Please go and pick them up now.

This documentary has plenty of people giving their thoughts on the transformation of the undead in hollywood and just in general. It does run fairly short in my mind but gives plenty in that time. A very cool movie I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys Zombies.

Really this wasn't a review, I dont see much of a negative in a documentary about zombies.
This is one of the best movies that i have seen on Netflix in awhile, I say go and eat this one alive.