Freaky Tales: Film Review
From The Last of Us to Fantastic Four, Pedro Pascal seems to be everywhere at the moment. Somehow, between his commitments to Star Wars, Disney and HBO, he had time to appear in Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck‘s anthology film Freaky Tales.
The Captain Marvel directors’ latest film featured four interconnected stories set in Oakland, California in 1987, but in a parallel universe where the residents are able to channel some cosmic green energy. We have punks fighting neo-Nazis, a female Salt-N-Pepa-style hip-hop duo (Normani and Dominique Thorne) doing a rap battle against their hero, Pascal as a tired enforcer who refuses to do one more job for his boss (Ben Mendelsohn), and a fictionalised version of basketball legend Sleepy Flloyd (Jay Ellis) going on a Kill-Bill style revenge spree.
I knew I’d be into Freaky Tales from the opening scroll, which set the tone instantly. There was so much I loved about it stylistically, from the on-screen graphics to the visuals, music, period ’80s costumes and music video. It is certainly a case of style over substance (except perhaps Pascal’s chapter) but the style was so good and I was entertained, so I can’t complain.
The film gets progressively better as it goes along, with each chapter building on the next and Mendelsohn’s role as a corrupt cop and disgusting racist getting more substantial. He’s the key that brings all of the stories together. The third and fourth chapters are excellent, in different ways. The third is a gritty crime drama with Pascal as a grieving debt collector. He brings emotional weight to his section and also had a fun interaction with Tom Hanks as a video shop owner. The fourth features a violent and bloody action sequence starring Ellis taking on criminals. It’s ridiculous but a blast.
The tales aren’t as freaky as the title suggests but they offer something for everyone and culminate in a highly satisfying conclusion.
On digital platforms from Monday 28th April