Review – Freaks

This Todd Browning classic is actually a little hard to review because it’s at least in part a creature of its time. Which is to say that when it first came out it upset people so much that the studio pulled it from distribution, a fate that thankfully has not continued to this day. Further, it suffers from many of the technical, script and acting defects endemic to the early days of “talkies.” However, its somewhat dated nature does little to diminish the impact of the better sequences. Browning’s decision to use actors with actual physical disabilities rather than employing makeup “monsters” is shocking even by contemporary standards. However, critics who complain of the exploitation and belittling of the physically differently abled miss the point of the picture. The movie, based on the short story “Spurs” by Tod Robins, tells the tale of a circus midget who, assisted by his fellow sideshow freaks, exacts a terrible revenge upon the “normal” woman who marries him for his money and then tries to poison him. Thus the moral at the end is an uplifting – albeit somewhat disturbing – vindication of the right to be different. And beyond all else, the famous “wedding feast” sequence and the final chase are worth the viewing for their visual impact alone. Buy the tape