Anthologies have a long history in storytelling as they gather seemingly disparate narratives into a singular collection. In cinema, the connection between the parts can remain thematic, leaving the stories individual (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)); may be through the actors as they play different roles within a variety of genres (The Killers (2024)); be unified by a prologue and epilogue with the tales’ parables (Tales from the Hood (1995)); or can center on a single character as they go on various adventures with new and repeating characters (Four Rooms (1995)). After premiering at Sundance 2023, writing/directing team Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s (Captain Marvel; It’s Kind of a Funny Story) Freaky Tales is set for a wide release. Theirs is an anthology film that mythologizes the Oakland Bay area, its inhabitants, its sights, and its sounds, through four interlocking stories where the best part isn’t even Nazis getting seriously fucked up, it’s (no joke) the friends you make along the way.
It’s 1987 Oakland and four separate tales converge as fate locks them all together during the same period in which a strange storm results in green lightning streaking through the skies. Punks fight Nazis, two hip-hop artists are given their big shot, a hitter takes on his last job while the consequences of an old job reverberate to the present, and a thief learns the hard way not to steal from one of Oakland’s own. Blood flows, love wins, and lightning flashes within these freaky tales.
Each of the stories within Boden and Fleck’s Freaky Tales stands on their own as a short film, but is undeniably strengthened by being part of a larger narrative. Each one features unique and distinct characters, centering the protagonists of the respective story while other characters, like Golden State Warriors player Sleepy Floyd (Jay Ellis) and his Psychotronics program, appear across each story. This enables the audience to get a different perspective on Oakland through each tale while maintaining cohesion through the film. The anthology narrative can, in general, seem gimmicky when there’s little to no consistency throughout, yet, even when the first tale of Freaky has a different cinematographic approach than the rest, or when the third tale leans a little hard on the visual throwback elements (more on that shortly), everything remains in-line and as part of the whole. This matters in ensuring that, regardless of the singular voices, styles, and genres that each story utilize, there remains a sense that this is Oakland.
Pedro Pascal as Clint in FREAKY TALES. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
Being an anthology means that the stories can take different approaches from each other to differentiate themselves, though it’s not a necessity. For instance, the whole of the film has a found-footage VHS tracking visual element that comes and goes (usually in the introduction or conclusion of a story), indicative of a well-worn or not-well-preserved recording. This, of course, creates an implication that the whole of Freaky Tales is itself part of that collection of ‘90s anthologies that were popular at the time and which utilized their specific locales to create unique celluloid adventures (ex: Tales from the Hood; Four Rooms). Seeing as the film incorporates a narrator who (a) introduces and concludes each story and (b) reads the introduction (with minor changes) to the film proper, there’s already a sense that we’re sitting before a storyteller who’s sharing a mythical tale. The act of having a narrator means that flourishes, embellishments, and truth-twisting are likely, but then adding in the tracking lines and changeover cues adds an additional layer of legend. All that to say, Boden and Fleck utilize several techniques to ensure that the audience never forgets that what we’re experiencing is positively cinematic magic, which makes the ways in which we end up believing in the characters all the more enchanting.
There are, of course, other things that help support the notion that Boden and Fleck are as interested in entertaining their audience as raising up the legend of Oakland beyond the use of technical or visual elements. You might think one of these supports would be starting off their story with a literal fight between a multi-national punk scene taking on a crew of Nazis (thereby starting our story not just with Nazis are bad, but an actual presentation of the philosophical concept of the paradox of tolerance which allows the intolerant to take a foothold in society), but it’s actually the inclusion of real places and people. First off, Nazis aren’t just a problem right now with their propagation into the White House and various branches of the U.S. government, they were such a problem in the recent past that one can find a 1975 documentary about the Nazi movement in California titled The California Reich. So, while it *used* to be that everyone could agree that Nazis were bad, their use in Freaky is less about utilizing a unifying villain for the film and more about including a specific issue relevant to Oakland. Additionally, Sleepy Floyd is a real person (and a Gastonia, North Carolina, native!) who played basketball, though likely didn’t do as much mayhem as we see Ellis present on screen. Likewise, in the second chapter, the central characters Entice and Barbie (Normani and Dominique Thorne, respectively) take part in a rap battle with Too $hort (Demario “Symba” Driver) also plays with Oakland history. More obvious to Oakland natives and those familiar, Too $hort is a real performer and a West Coast hip-hop legend who’s been in the game for decades. Taking the nod a step further, the rapping duo of Entice and Barbie calls themselves “Danger Zone,” which feels like a reference to the group “The Dangerous Crew” which Too $hort was a part of. This reviewer may have had to do some homework to get this, but it’s no less worth applauding at how much Boden and Fleck sought to anchor their frequently outrageous and radical Freaky Tales with the real Oakland.
Minus some quibbles related to one cinematography choice that is a gimmick to nowhere in the first story, one cannot deny the infectious energy of Freaky Tales. The songs keep the audience hyped, the cast is made of Boden/Fleck regulars and newbies, all game to get in on the action, and each of the pieces presented not only satisfy individually, they get you pumped for the next segment. The film incorporates the relationship between martial arts and the Black community, the significance of raw hip-hop and its ability to win over any crowd, that second chances can come anytime, and that minorities almost always have the right idea about how to handle a Nazi. At a time when morale needs any bit of lift it can get to maintain a necessary resistance against a machine determined to destroy law and order, Freaky Tales serves as a strong reminder that, through community, through friendship, we can hold the line and maybe teach some lessons in the process.
In theaters April 4th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Lionsgate Freaky Tales webpage.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
Share this:
Categories: Films To Watch, In Theaters, Recommendation, Reviews
Leave a Reply