Freaks (1932)

I had been foaming with anticipation to see Freaks for a long time. It's regarded by some as a piece of must-see historical cinema. Plus who doesn't want to see a mob of vengeful, real life abnormalities dish out come-uppance to a snotty trapeze artist? The film opens with a spiel about the value of all humans and so on and what not. Some will argue it's a cover for an exploitative film but I think not. Director Tod Browning's ticker appears to generally be in the right place. Centred around a love triangle in a travelling freak show it stars an amazing cast of individuals; half boy Johnny Eck, Siamese twins Daisy and Violet Hilton, pin head Schlitze and miniature siblings Harry and Daisy Earles. That's only a few of the fascinating carnival folk that appear and make this film one hell of a thing.

 

What would traditionally be categorised as good acting and original plot hardly appear but that matters little. The simple tale still fires some curly moral questions all while you sit like a gawking, popcorn stuffing, putrid smelling, circus audience member. The spectacle of the "Gooble gobble, gooble gobble, one of us!" wedding scene has rightly been canonised into pop culture. Unforgettable stuff.  

4/5