An NBA star, a corrupt cop, a female rap duo, teenage punks, neo-Nazis and a debt collector embark on a collision course in 1987 Oakland, Calif.
Director: Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Normanit, Dominique Thorne, Jack Champion, Ji-young Yoo, Angus Cloud
Release Date: April 4, 2025
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Drama
Rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout including slurs, sexual content and drug use.
Runtime: 1h 47m
Review:
Freaky Tales is a quirky, Interconnected Tarantinoesque anthology that delivers a hefty dose of 80's Bay area nostalgia with increasingly off the wall chapters that benefit from a strong vibe and cast. Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden borrow elements from a variety of sources for the four chapters that make up the story with noticeable nods to Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill being readily evident and even some sprinkles of Scott Pilgrim in the opening. The pairs deep love and affection for this time and space seeps through the screen as they touch on everything from the punk and hip-hop scene to dirty cops, Nazis and basketball ninjas. Some chapters are far more grounded than others with the filmmakers asking you to roll with the punches especially as events get nuttier in the final act. Like most anthologies, some chapters work better than others with the first two really nailing down the vibe of each setting before stalling out in a more straightforward crime drama with the Pedro Pascal focused third chapter. That's not to say the third chapter is bad, it just marks a notice shift in the film's tone to establish the connective tissue that brings everything together in its final act. It’s a minor hiccup but it does have a fun cameo that makes the tonal change easier to deal. The ensemble cast turns in solid work across the board with Jack Champion and Ji-young Yoo sharing some believable romantic chemistry in the opening act with Normanit and Dominique Thorne bringing a similar authenticity to their friendship in the rap battle portion. Pedro Pascal is given the least showy role in the whole thing but delivers a solid turn as usual. Ben Mendelsohn and Jay Ellis are given more fun roles as a sleazy detective and rather lethal point guard. It all makes Freaky Tales a rather unexpected surprise of a film that's sure to become a cult classic in the years to come.
B+
