Freaky Tales (2025) Lionsgate/Action-Comedy-Sci-Fi RT: 107 minutes Rated R (strong bloody violence, language throughout including slurs, sexual content, drug use) Director: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck Screenplay: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck Music: Raphael Saadiq Cinematography: Jac Fitzgerald Release date: April 4, 2025 (US) Cast: Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Too $hort, Normani, Dominique Thorn, Ji-Young Joo, Jack Champion, Angus Cloud, Keir Gilchrist, Michelle Farrah Huang, Marteen, Jordan Gomes, DeMario Symba Driver, Tim Armstrong, Marshawn Lynch, Natalia Dominguez, Tom Hanks. Performances by Aphids! and Gulch
Rating: *** ½
It’s been a while since we had an anthology movie. I think the last one was the holiday-themed Nightmare on 34th Street. Of course, nothing will ever top Creepshow, the pinnacle of anthology films. The George A. Romero-Stephen King collaboration still rocks after 43 years.
Freaky Tales, written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Captain Marvel), isn’t actually a horror movie. Oh, it’s super-violent and super-bloody alright, but it doesn’t tell scary stories. Its monsters are of the human variety- i.e. Nazi skinheads, biker thugs and a corrupt cop. It has a slight sci-fi slant with a mysterious green light that seems to grant superpowers. At one point, it enables a city bus (driven by Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch) to take flight. It’s just one of many wonderfully weird that happens over the course of four freaky (interconnected) tales narrated by rapper Too $hort.
Set in 1987 Oakland, the first story “Strength in Numbers: The Gilman Strikes Back”, set at the real-life music venue 924 Gilman Street, deals with the ongoing rivalry between punk rockers and Nazi skinheads. The racists keep showing up to assault clubgoers and vandalize the place. Two of them, Tina (Yoo, Until Dawn) and Lucid (Champion, Scream VI), decide enough is enough. They encourage everybody to take up arms and fight back. It leads to a bloody skirmish between the two groups.
The second one “Don’t Fight the Feeling”, the weakest of the four, centers on female rap duo Danger Zone. Barbie (Thorne, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and Entice (R&B singer Normani) are looking to make a name for themselves. They get their shot when they’re invited to perform with rapper Too Short (played by rapper Driver) in what turns out to be a rap battle.
The third tale “Born to Mack” stars Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) as career criminal Clint. He wants to retire so he can focus on his family. His dreams are dashed when somebody with a grudge murders his pregnant wife (Dominguez). Now with nothing left to lose, he turns down the one last job he’s ordered to perform.
The final segment “The Legend of Sleepy Floyd” brings everything full circle. The “one last job” turns out to be a heist, a series of them actually, orchestrated by crime boss/corrupt cop “The Guy” (Mendelsohn, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). The plan to rob the home of several members of the Golden State Warriors including star player Sleepy Floyd (Ellis, Top Gun: Maverick) during a game. During the robbery, Floyd’s family is attacked and his girlfriend dies. He’s devastated, but instead of drowning in misery, he calls on the power of “Psytopics” (a cult that helps people tap into their inner powers or some such nonsense) to help him get revenge against the gang responsible. And boy, does he ever! It’s an even bloodier fight than the one in the first segment.
Freaky Tales had me at 1987. Everybody has their favorite year; that’s mine. Boden and Fleck capture it perfectly. It feels completely authentic. I love that they set a pivotal scene at a movie theater where characters from the first two tales have just seen The Lost Boys. They all have the same question. If the grandfather knew about the vampires in Santa Carla, why didn’t he say something sooner? The other titles on the marquee are Ishtar, Raising Arizona, Radio Days and Creepshow 2 (another anthology). Here’s something only a true movie aficionado would notice. The action takes place on May 10. The Lost Boys didn’t come out until July 31. Also, Ishtar opened on May 15. I love spotting things like that.
There’s a serious undercurrent flowing through Freaky Tales. It deals with the open racism of the late 80s when people could still spout vile racist garbage without fear of being cancelled. Take The Guy. In segment 2, he shows up at the ice cream parlor where Barbie and Entice work and makes inappropriate comments both racial and sexual. Then, of course, there’s the Nazi gang. We first meet them driving past the aforementioned cinema shouting terrible things at the patrons (the black girls). It’s only fitting that the hero of the movie is a black man- i.e. Sleepy Floyd.
What can I say about the acting in Freaky Tales? Honestly, there are no bad performances in the film. Everybody seems to be having a great time so why rain on their parade? Tom Hanks puts in a cameo as a video store clerk who runs down his top five underdog movies for Clint. They are Rocky (an obvious choice), Hoosiers, The Dirty Dozen, The Verdict and, even though he doesn’t actually say the title, Breaking Away. It’s a great scene. BTW, Tom Hanks and producer Poppy Hanks are NOT related. Some people are saying she’s his daughter, but she’s not.
There is plenty of gory violence in Freaky Tales. There are two awesome fight scenes in which Nazis and other dirtbags are dispatched by the score. One of the baddies is played by the late Angus Cloud (Abigail) in one of his final performances. I’m a little disappointed the gore is CGI. They should have gone with stage blood to make it feel more like a product of the 80s. To the makers’ credit, they show cigarette burns (signaling a reel change) in the upper right corner. Remember those?
I enjoyed Freaky Tales immensely. It’s fun and funny. It has serious themes, but the makers never allow their film to get bogged down. They keep it moving along at a nice clip. I can see where it might not play to mainstream audiences, but I have a feeling it’ll find its fans when it hits streaming. If any movie deserves a cult, it’s Freaky Tales.
