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A small boy known as Lil' Looney is ridiculed and set-upon
by his fellow classmates, tired of his eccentric and annoying
ways. He leaves vowing to return in thirteen years to exact
his revenge on the school. Precisely thirteen years later,
having escaped from a mental institute and evaded capture,
he arrives in the small town of Redwater Cove to discover
that the school is no longer there. Merv Doody is a horror
movie buff who comes across the Looney (wearing a potato sack
over his head) in his shower. Rather than being freaked-out
himself, Merv hatches a plan, along with his friend Onkey,
to turn the Looney into a psycho serial killer. That's easier
said than done at first, because the newcomer faints easily,
has a high-pitched voice and doesn't even eat meat. However,
over time their new creation takes on a life of its own with
the spatula being his chosen weapon. How can Merv and Onkey
bring to a halt the unstoppable onslaught of murderous mayhem...?
Whether
you like this film or loathe it, you've got to allow at least
grudging respect for this bunch of English amateurs who have
effectively, on a budget of tuppence and a Dolly Mixture,
created a horror spoof/comedy. It's often said a rule of creativity
is to keep it simple, and that's precisely what's been done
here. To dress the Looney a hockey mask is put on top of the
potato sack (both were worn by Jason Vorhees in the Friday
13th films - the sack in Part 2 and the mask from
Part 3 onwards) and he is dressed in an orange boiler
suit (you'll remember Michael Myers wore a dark blue one in
John Carpenter's Halloween).
The
premise is pretty straightforward too, because the idea here
is to have fun. The overall effect is that it does look cheap,
but hey, these very determined guys and gals slogged away
at this for four years, constantly running out of money and
haven't done a bad job at all. John Carpenter had to do the
same thing with Dark
Star, which he started in film school. The
crew of Freak Out also went well out of their way to
promote the film at festivals such as Cannes and Montreal,
coming away minor heroes. I even gave this release a second
try and definitely enjoyed it better the second time around.
I wouldn't say Freak Out is a laugh-out-loud movie,
but it does keep you quietly amused. There are a number of
humorous set-pieces and one-liners, including when the Looney
goes to town on Onkey with an ironing board and iron, a pot
of boiling water, an electric egg whisk and a spatula - after
meeting him for the first time. Also, the creating of a name
for the killer, which should be four syllables: "Ja-son Vor-hees,
Mich-ael My-ers ... Lar-ry Hag-man." The acting is pretty
good too for initiates. Particularly sparkling is the minor
part of Abby, played by Nicola Connell (who surprisingly wasn't
the first choice). Her character is smitten with Merv, although
he chooses not to notice (Merv must be more Looney than the
psycho killer!).
There's
loads of extras on this two-disc set, including two multiple
commentaries, a "Making of", Music Video, a number
of featurettes (some of which are time-wasters), Deleted Scenes
and Easter eggs. If you're into horror, comedy or both, give
Freak Out a try.
Ty
Power
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