cherokeeshorty
Okay... This movie was a terrible, unnecessary rip off of the classic Freaks. Freaks had a heart, you felt for the characters. They were actually decent actors. Freakshow was just disappointing and sad... It took me years to get ahold of Freaks on VHS back in the day. The sound was cruddy due to the era it came from, but I enjoyed it. It was unique. Freakshow reeks of less than subtle thievery. It was full of sex and violence that didn't improve upon the storyline. I'm not a prude, sex and violence are peachy keen, it just seems useless when touching upon an already used storyline and adds absolutely nothing to the plot. Also, tossing in the threatening and brutally graphic scalping of a child... And then displaying her mangled remains... What was the point of that? Disgusting. Gore and nudity can't save a movie with so little going for it. I don't understand the appeal.
TheLittleSongbird
Freakshow was one of those movies that promised much, unfortunately it was also one of those movies that didn't deliver at all what it promised. Its sole bright spot is the final 10 minutes which does have a little bit of tension and some decent gore. That's it for the pros however. I personally didn't think the production values were all that good, I found the fading in and out technique of the camera work overused and distracting, the special effects rather crude and the settings all too basic, there are only about 5 or 6 of them and neither of them are that special. I disliked the soundtrack as well, it just seemed very cheesy and because it seemed as though it was trying too hard to sound like the 20s-30s it came across as dated as well. The dialogue is horrendously stilted, the characters are too underdeveloped to have any likability(to me the cannibal girl seemed too attractive to be a freak) and the story bored rather than excited me with sluggish pacing and a complete lack of suspense. The acting is very poor, nobody stands out in a good way and it feels either over-earnest or non-existent. All in all, the final 10 minutes are decent but the rest is a waste of time. 2/10 Bethany Cox
acv6406
Last 10 minutes of the movie were completely unnecessary... It was like watching a surgery, a nasty surgery... n btw I'm sure a person could die from that much blood loss, or at the very least pass out.I don't particularly like scary movies, and this is a perfect example of why, because they're stupid, but I wanted to see this because I do like the original Freaks. The success in that movie was they left the gore to the imagination, and otherwise told a story-- that's something today's movie have no concept of. Everything is all shock appeal, and the success of a horror movie is merited to the one that makes you want to vomit the most.The other comments were right, there is zero character development. Characters get hurt, and die gory deaths, and you really don't care, there is no effort in the screenplay to pull the movie watcher into the film; they just want to gross you out. I forced myself to not be grossed out by the last 10 minutes because I didn't want to give the makers the satisfaction of achieving that from me for this stupid movie, which had the potential to be a lot more.
Maggie
Freakshow warrants all ten stars and I will tell you why. This movie used no "cheap scares" where you almost crap your pants when the inevitable friend sneaks up on the heroin, or when you get faked out by a shadow. This is the real deal, folks. REAL circus freaks and REAL deformities make the anxiety build. If you have seen the ORIGINAL, "Freaks" (1932)you will be SHOCKED at how the newer version has taken the story beyond grotesque. The reason I am still nauseated from this movie may be because there was no indication as to the horrifying ending (forget the cover, "Banned in 43 countries" I've heard that before). I never thought it would be so graphic and **realistic**. I have not seen anything saying otherwise yet, but I fully believe that someones REAL lips where pierced with a needle in the climax. The realism MAKES the torture scene. From the living torso to the elephant man, no one shows remorse or hesitation before cutting away Lucy's face and breast. The lack of conscience and the blatant sadism made my stomach TURN. I don't want to sound like the producers of "Hostel" but DO NOT let your kids watch this. DO NOT watch this movie if you are someone that needs special effects and computer animation to be entertained either. Be patient and you will be rewarded with the most disturbing moment in movie HISTORY.
AD
