Fantasia 2019 review: FREAKS is a dark but rewarding genre mashup

What if Room took place in a dystopian world? That’s the initial premise of Freaks, the Canadian-American genre mashup from writers-directors-producers Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein.

Chloe (played by a then 7-year-old Lexy Kolker) lives an extremely sheltered existence. Locked up in a decrepit home by her unnamed father (Emile Hirsch), he drills into her the dangers of the outside world, and ensures she memorizes a detailed cover story in case she is ever discovered. With paper covering the walls and windows, the mail slot is the only glimpse of the outside world that Chloe sees, and things appear normal enough. So is her father, with his survivalist beard and wild eyes, all there? Is there really a threat looming outside their home, or has her father gone off the deep end?

Freaks is a movie that takes its time winding through a complex story. At first, the only hints of the outside world are glimpsed through a newscast in the background — something tragic has happened out in the world, but the current situation is murky. As Chloe finally starts to shake off her father’s shackles, she becomes aware not only of the outside world and its dangers, but also of her own extraordinary capabilities, and the immense power she wields. She’s soon joined on her path by a mysterious man in an ice cream truck (Bruce Dern), who has more up his sleeve than buckets of Rocky Road.

It’s very difficult to discuss Freaks without delving into its myriad plot twists, which the film expertly handles even as it often brings about an unexpected shift in tone (and even genre). What begins as a claustrophobic horror story opens up into a much deeper and richer sci-fi world, yet the sudden shifts never feel arbitrary. We follow Chloe along on her journey, and the deeper revelations hit the audience just as hard as they hit her. Kolker delivers an incredibly moving performance — it’s often hard to watch certain scenes when she’s in peril, because her delivery is so convincing.

The comparison to Room is apt not just because much of the film takes place in a single location — the emotional heft of this film is striking for a genre picture, and makes the more out-there plot aspects that much more believable. Emile Hirsch does great work as a father pushed to the limit to try and defend his daughter in extreme circumstances, while the legendary Bruce Dern (working at an extremely intense level throughout) is perfectly pitched as the mysteriously wry and very shouty Mr. Snowcone.

Freaks ends in a very different place than when it starts, but those willing to go along for the ride will be rewarded with one of the most unpredictable and moving genre films in some time. A bit of advice: go into this one cold as possible, as Freaks packs a ton of surprises and half the joy is simply wondering just where the filmmakers can possibly be leading us to next.

Freaks is out on September 13, 2019.