Premiering over a year ago on the opening night of Sundance Film Festival, Freaky Tales was a hopeful return to proper filmmaking after Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck got sucked into the Marvel machine. Unfortunately, despite a game cast of Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Normani, Dominique Thorne, Jack Champion, Ji-young Yoo, Angus Cloud, and (briefly) Tom Hanks, the scattershot 80s-set Oakland anthology didn’t quite live up to its midnight movie vibes. After holding on to it for some time, Lionsgate will now give the film a wide release on April 4 and the first trailer has arrived.
Here’s the synopsis: “Set in 1987 Oakland, Freaky Tales is a multi-track mixtape of colorful characters — an NBA star, a corrupt cop, a female rap duo, teen punks, neo-Nazis, and a debt collector — on a collision course in a fever dream of showdowns and battles. Executive produced by hip-hop pioneer Too $hort, and featuring an all-star ensemble including Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Normani, Dominique Thorne, Jack Champion, Ji-young Yoo, Angus Cloud, and Tom Hanks, this pulpy blend of explosive action, edgy humor, gory kills, and sly twists and turns makes for one wild ride.”
Jake Kring-Schreifels said in his review, “And what do you get into with Freaky Tales? Unfortunately, something clever, self-satisfied, and much sleepier than its predetermined adrenaline rush. Its filmmakers made their first splash at Sundance with Half Nelson in 2006, eventually compounding their indie success through sensitive (It’s Kind of a Funny Story) and smart (Mississippi Grind) features that showcased their writing skills and casting decisions. Their mainstream outlier Captain Marvel likely inspired their return to more nimble filmmaking, but Freaky Tales suggests an under-written misfire. In this collage of four intersecting stories, Boden and Fleck throw a lot at the wall and hope it drips into something coherent. Incorporating sci-fi elements and animation with a hip-hop, punk, and classic rock-inspired soundtrack, Freaky Tales wants the verve of Pulp Fiction but seems to have been reverse-engineered from its structural conceit. “
See the trailer below.
