Freaks (2018)
Emile Hirsch, Bruce Dern and Lexy Kolker star in this menacing sci-fi thriller nominated for Best Canadian Feature at Toronto.
"Isolated and desperate to get outside and experience life beyond the crumbling walls of their dilapidated house, Chloe (Kolker) finally makes a break for it when her sleep-deprived father (Hirsch) drifts off. But the outside world isn't all she envisioned ... She's immediately met by a twitchy, oddly familiar ice-cream salesman (Dern) who gives off the wrong kind of vibes but entices Chloe onto his truck. He speeds off to the park and en route she's introduced to a strange world, haunted by the threat of freaks who look like us but are markedly different — and likely dangerous." (Toronto International Film Festival)
- Director:
- Zach Lipovsky ('Dark Rising: Watchtower')Adam B. Stein (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Zach LipovskyAdam B. Stein
- Cast:
- Emile HirschBruce DernGrace ParkAmanda CrewLexy KolkerDakota DaulbyMatty FinochioMichelle Harrison
Reviews & comments
The New York Times
pressIts most effective trick, though, is to trap us all inside Chloe's head, presenting a child's-eye view of a world gone incomprehensibly mad.
Los Angeles Times
pressIt's watchable and intriguing stuff, yet also silly and inconsistent.
FilmInk
press...an unexpected gem of a film, well-acted, well-written and well-shot, with timely themes and clever staging.
Variety
pressA tight yarn whose structural cleverness makes it easy to ignore the deeply familiar story at its core.
Screen Daily
pressThe film doesn't earn many points for originality, but writer-directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein show just enough low-budget gusto to suggest that they might have a future as B-movie mavens.
Hollywood Reporter
press[Kolker's] semi-improvised performance couldn't be any more authentic and she's well matched with Hirsch, drawing on his own parental experience, as her conflicted and overprotective father.
Collider
pressYoung Lexy Kolker delivers unforgettable work, and the level of detail and emotion Lipovsky and Stein achieve suggests this isn't a pair to merely lean on a clever concept. They strive to make it mean something and in the case of Freaks they've succeeded.
The New York Times
pressIts most effective trick, though, is to trap us all inside Chloe's head, presenting a child's-eye view of a world gone incomprehensibly mad.
Los Angeles Times
pressIt's watchable and intriguing stuff, yet also silly and inconsistent.
FilmInk
press...an unexpected gem of a film, well-acted, well-written and well-shot, with timely themes and clever staging.
Variety
pressA tight yarn whose structural cleverness makes it easy to ignore the deeply familiar story at its core.
Screen Daily
pressThe film doesn't earn many points for originality, but writer-directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein show just enough low-budget gusto to suggest that they might have a future as B-movie mavens.
Hollywood Reporter
press[Kolker's] semi-improvised performance couldn't be any more authentic and she's well matched with Hirsch, drawing on his own parental experience, as her conflicted and overprotective father.
Collider
pressYoung Lexy Kolker delivers unforgettable work, and the level of detail and emotion Lipovsky and Stein achieve suggests this isn't a pair to merely lean on a clever concept. They strive to make it mean something and in the case of Freaks they've succeeded.
There aren't any user reviews for this movie yet.
Share