Freaked (Special Edition DVD)

If you’re already a fan of this 1993 cult flick, you know who you are. (And how’s that weekly therapy going?) Freaked was born of the minds of Alex Winter (most famous for playing Bill — or was it Ted? — in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) and his co-director, Tom Stern (That’s My Bush!), and is something like a cross between The Island of Dr. Moreau and Scary Movie.

Freaked follows the misadventures of washed-up former child actor Ricky Coogan (Winter) and two pals, who wind up as exhibits in a roadside freak show run by an insane impresario named Elijah C. Skuggs (Randy Quaid) who not only uses a mouse for his computer (a real one…) but has a “freak-making machine” that is powered by toxic fertilizer.

It’s all very silly (think: Hot Shots! or Brain Donors) but the kooky-cool cast is, er, impressive: Mr. T., Bobcat Golthwaite, Brooke Shields, Deep Roy, Morgan Fairchild, and Gibby Haynes (from The Butthole Surfers… there’s even some of his music in the movie, as well as a Henry Rollins tune). Heck, Keanu Reeves is even in it as one of the furry freaks, Ortiz the Dog Boy. Gotta love it.

Well, OK, maybe not “love it”. It didn’t quite work for me, but I suspect that’s because I was drug and alcohol free while watching. The movie does have some pretty funny faux-horror moments, but it’s definitely an outré movie and for devotees of the obscure only.

It does already have a cult following, so I won’t go into a review per se. The real news here is that Anchor Bay has given the fans what they really want: A two-disc set, loaded with additional release material (a previous DVD release, from Pathe had no extras whatsoever).

DVD Features…

Disc One:

Commentary by directors/Writers Alex Winter and Tom Stern

Featurette: Hijinx in Freek Land

A conversation with writer Tim Burns

Theatrical trailer and deleted scenes

Freaked art gallery

DVD-ROM: Screenplay

Disc Two:

Freaked: The Reehersel Version: Full-length rehearsal of the film

Early script readings of selected scenes

Terrifying footage featuring the character of Stuey Gluck

Behind-the-scenes video of the construction of Freek Land

Witness Alex Winter's makeup transformation

Two short films by Tom Stern and Alex Winter: Squeal of Death, & NYU Sight & Sound Project

= = =

Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson