FRIGHT FEST: SMALLS INVITES YOU TO BECOME ONE OF US WITH FREAKS

"Gooble Gobble, Gooble Gobble. We accept her, we accept her. One of us, one of us."

In Freaks, we follow a group of circus performers (including quite a few "freaks") as they go about their difficult lives, trying to find love and happiness. Dwarf Hans (Harry Earles) falls head over heels for the beautiful, but greedy and evil Cleo (Olga Baclanova). She almost immediately has Hans acting as an almost man-servant of sorts, buying her expensive gifts and waiting on her hand-and-foot. When she discovers he's even richer than she would have guessed, Cleo hatches a plan to marry him, poison him, and steal his fortune. Luckily for Hans, his fellow freaks won't allow such madness. There's also a subplot involving clown Phroso (Wallace Ford) and his girlfriend Venus (Leila Hyams).

Freaks is directed by Todd Browning, and actually stars real circus "freaks". For a film that runs at a swift 62 minutes, it does drag its feet at times. Luckily the scenes that follow the main plot of the film and any that include the "freaks" are actually fairly interesting and are fun to watch. Some of the "freaks" are unsettling to watch, but the film portrays these people as more than just sideshow attractions. They are regular people with their own lives, and their own hopes and dreams. In this way, Freaks is actually kind of progressive. 

The actors in Freaks aren't the best you'll see, and some words are hard to make out (due to some accents). That said, it's still cool to watch actual circus performers act in this film. They are all likable and relatable. The film has a strong atmosphere (it really feels like a circus), and some memorable scenes (like the wedding feast). It's also a bit freaky and creepy at odd moments (like the scene where the "freaks" start to gang up on Cleo).  

Freaks is a film where it's the "freaks" who are the normal ones, and it's two of the "normal" people that are really the freaks. It's also got a great message about tolerance and acceptance. It's certainly not a perfectly made film, but it's fairly charming, I LOVE it's message, and I was surprised at how much I emphasized with the "freaks". Freaks easily emerges as one of my new favorite films, and is an easy Halloween recommendation. 

4 STARS

And so ends another Fright Fest. As the creatures of the night go back into their slumber, I wish you all a very Happy Halloween and a pleasant rest of the year.