LogFAQs > #912336752

9. Freaks (film) (26 points)
Nominated by: Xeybozn (0/5 remaining)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39Bnk6VU53Y" data-time="

Importance: 9
Fear: 8
Snake: 9

A controversial film for its time, Freaks starred real carnival sideshow performers and was originally a much longer film before disastrous test screenings featuring shocking scenes forced to film to lose a third of its footage, which has now been lost to time. It was considered exploitative and morally bankrupt, but deep down, Freaks has a lot of heart to it. The point of the film after all is to show that the "normal" members of the carnival are really the heartless, uncaring freaks, whereas the sideshow performers have a strong sense of camaraderie, community, and humanity and are more than just their deformities. It doesn't really become a horror movie until the climax, and is instead majorly driven be drama, romance, and betrayal. Cleopatra, a trapeze artist and beauty queen, manipulates Hans, a dwarf with a large inheritance coming his way, into marriage, and the freaks even try to initiate Cleopatra as an official member of their group, but she gets frightened by the ritual and spills the beans about cheating on Hans with strongman Hercules. Hans plots revenge with his fellow freaks; it is satisfying to see Cleopatra and Hercules get their just desserts, in one of the most memorable and definitely the scariest part of the film, even as neutered as it were. The studio-mandated ending does show however Hans regretted the revenge and tried to stop the plot, which I think serves the film's message well. At a brisk hour, Freaks is one of the most unique films you'll ever see, as time was kind to this tale of true ugliness, the type that only lives on the inside and rears its head whenever an opportune moment arises.
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http://tinyurl.com/zqwzc9a - https://i.imgtc.com/3qwvxhc.jpg