Freaks (2019)

"Freaks" (2019, Adam Stein, Zack Lipovsky, Amazing Incorporated, Wise Daughter Films, My Way Productions, Storyboard Capital Group) is a science fiction thriller.

Chloe (Lexy Kolker) is a seven year old girl living with her father, Henry (Emile Hirsch), in an abandoned house. Henry appears quite disturbed and will not allow Chloe outside of the house or to even look out of the windows. However, Mr. Snowcone (Bruce Dern), the local ice cream man, is on a mission to get Chloe out into the world for his own reasons...

At first I thought I'd found my way onto yet another slow burning dud, but after the initial confusing build up, the film starts to really pick up and takes us in several new directions I hadn't been expecting.

Lexy Kolker is a fantastic little lead actress and manages to conquer some pretty tough looking scenes with an effortless ease and reality. We're completely with her the whole way through, even when we occasionally don't know what's going on. Chloe is faced with some dark situations, and some scenes cover some quite violent or morally questionable themes. It's dark, scary and quite fascinating.

Emile Hirsch is also great in the part as the slightly unhinged father. From first introduction until the final reveal we're never quite sure what his deal is and how much of it is fabricated.

I like Bruce Dern in general, but he's excellent in this part treading the line between friendly and scary with deft ease and a hint of relish. As the audience learn more about what's really going on we find ourselves understanding his character more, even if we don't like his methods.

Overall, I found the film enjoyable. I appreciate that the build up was kept consciously vague to allow the reveal to be more effective, and in I'm glad I didn't give up on it when I wasn't sure if it was going anywhere. Some of the scenes are really engaging, especially in Chloe's cupboard, but there are a few parts of the film that felt a little 'syfy TV special' and didn't quite gel as well into the overall body. On the whole, however, I would definitely watch this film again.

[Amazing Incorporated, et al]

Hani

Mutants

'Mutants' (2009, D. Morlet,/Louis-Paul Desanges) is a French horror.

This is pretty much a zombie movie by any other name. It starts off well with a gruesome, albeit pretty unrealistic, road accident, and dives straight into setting the scene. We're in France. There's a virus which is spreading quickly through the area. The virus turns you into an angry flesh eating 'mutant'. There. Scene set.

We follow the journey of Marco (Francis Renaud) and his paramedic girlfriend, Sonia (Hélène de Fougerolles) in their dilapidated ambulance, as they flee the mutants in an attempt to find safety. Sonia also reveals that she survived a Mutant attack and appears to be immune. She hopes that someone at a military base called 'Noah' will be able to use her blood to develop a cure for the virus.

They find refuge in an abandoned building when they run out of fuel and Marco becomes ill after being bitten. His rapid and gruesome decline into zombie-dom is enjoyably reminiscent of the film 'District 9'. There's also some good tension attempted with a botched blood transfusion, although I admittedly spent more time waiting on Zombie-Marco falling on  his face with his foot in a basin of blood...

He soon becomes too dangerous to handle and Sonia tearfully locks him up. She also reveals 'typical-horror-movie-shocking-revelation' which is not so shocking. Believe me, you will see it coming.

Their refuge is suddenly taken over by another group of survivors, lead by typical zombie movie jackass, Franck (Nicolas Briancon).

Franck wants everything; the ambulance, the fuel, the radios. Sonia fights him and his gang; there's a lot of squabbling and then suddenly there's a Mutant ambush (It's not a horde.... horde's are bigger. This was definitely an ambush. I'm presuming the number of mutants was limited by budget...).

Some good gore, but I'd say not enough. I did enjoy the Franck character though, even if he was a bit 2D - what a dick! Unfortunately, his death scene is too short and neat for my liking. He deserved a more painful ending.

All in all an enjoyable watch. If you don't like subtitled movies, I'd avoid. Although, in zombie horror is the script really so important?

(Picture: IFC)

Hani