Following the death of her parents, Staci (Amy Paliganoff), an aspiring young artist, begins a move across four states to start a new life with her little sister, Jodi (Andrea Johnson). Little does she realize the terror that she and her sister will soon encounter at the hands of a recently escaped mental patient.
Undoubtedly, 'Freak' owes a lot to movies such as 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' (1974) and John Carpenter's classic 'Halloween' (1978). However, 'Freak' retains enough of its own power to make the open-minded viewer refrain from cries of 'rip-off' and concentrate on the movie, which is certainly not without its own charms and horrors. Perhaps a stylistic influence for the following year's harrowing shocker, 'Scrapbook', relatively new director, Tyler Tharpe, displays directorial ability that could make him a huge name in the future. His use of location is powerful and the near-deserted, desolate back-roads of Fort Wayne, Indiana (although the setting is supposed to be Ohio) coupled with an isolated, decaying and mouldering house reminiscent of those seen in such films as Tobe Hooper's classic 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' and the more recent 'The Blair Witch Project' both provide shocking, repugnant and unsettling visual elements. Through this wonderful use of locations and settings, Tharpe is able to take full control of his film and create a haunting atmosphere equivalent in malevolence to some of the most renowned and revered horror films. Considering the budget and limitations, 'Freak' is almost a visual masterpiece.
Of course, the film is not without flaws. The acting performances range from mediocre to simply adequate and the film takes a few minutes longer to end than it really should. It is also likely that some viewers will find the truly brutal, barbaric and traumatic opening to be something of a red-herring when eventually considering the rest of the film's content. Following this beginning, there is also a ten or fifteen minute lull which may turn some viewers off, but may also attract some viewers to the film more so than other, similar efforts. One of the main criticisms that many have with the horror genre is the continual lack of character-development in such movies. However, Tharpe withdraws from the horror aspect for a short period of time to develop his characters and we learn enough about them to eventually care about them to some extent. Although Tharpe is not entirely successful in what he attempts to accomplish, one learns to care about the characters slightly more than they would while watching similar films. This, quite aptly, leads to some moments of truly heart-pounding later in the film when the protagonist's almost idyllic journey is shattered and the horror begins. This all leads up to a fantastic, nerve-wracking climax as the elements of horror truly combine to create a surprisingly memorable finale!
Although not without flaws, 'Freak' is an entertaining, modern, low-budget horror film that acts more as homage to its inspirers, rather than simple plagiarism of the classics. The poor performances are far less distracting than in similar movies due to Tharpe's surprising abilities in the director's chair. Perhaps not as violent and gory as one would expect following the opening, 'Freak' still manages to become an immensely suspenseful, haunting, disconcerting and thus enthralling movie if predicitable in a few places. Recommended for low-budget, horror fans. My rating for 'Freak' 7/10.
