Review of Freaks (1932) by Peter H — 19 May 2010

"Insult one of them and you insult them all" this line pretty much sums up what this shocking masterpiece is all about. This film weaves a dark tale of Greed, Discrimination and Vendetta into one compact storyline. The film begins in a carnival were a sideshow barker telling a shocking tale to a small audience gathered around a wooden box about the fate of the trapeze artist Cleopatra who offended the code of the sideshow freaks. The film then jumps back to when Cleo was in the circus were she had won the affection of a midget ringmaster Hans who desperately tries to court her. However Hans is unaware that Cleo has little or no interest with Hans as a human being, the one thing she likes about this poor human being is his huge fortune. Despite the concerns from Freda (the carnivals female midget that is in love with Hans) and the decent able body performers like Venus and Phroso , little Hans continues to peruse Cleo. Unknown to Hans, Cleo is in a relationship with the wicked strong man Hercules and they are both plotting to get their hands on Hans' fortune in any way they can. As the film moves along we are introduce to the other freaks of the circus like the human torso Prince Rahain a man with no arms or legs, the conjoined twins that are struggling to forge a relationship with two different men, and the man with no lower half to his body. Just the appearance of these secondary characters makes this film so incredible due to them being real sideshow freaks.

Any way we find out that Hans has done the most foolish thing of all; He has married that bitch Cleo. Hans then becomes more aware of what his new brides motivation at the wedding banquette were she insult all of the circus freaks by cursing at them after they chanted " gobble gobble ... We accept her ... one of us " . Shortly after that Cleo then tries to poison Hans but after a botched attempted at murder, once it is reviled that Hans had ingested poison the once likeable freaks become quite menacing. At the climax of the film Cleo tries this again but this time Hans and his pals catch her in the act, for ten minutes of the film the freaks stalk Cleo and Hercules rage of vengeance, this scene is so intense and gripping it rivals any Alfred Hitchcock thriller. The film ends with Hans crying in the arms of Freda that he only wanted the poison out of Cleo's hands and did not want Cleo to meet her horrible fate which is revealed in the box the Carnival barker is telling the story over. Looking at Cleo's fate strikes an ethical Dilemma "for her actions did she really deserve something that brutal after all it was not Hans who wanted to harm her in a dark way it was the other freaks".

It's a shame this film was panned by the original audiences and critics deeming it to shocking and that it was exploiting and insulting to people with deformities. MGM had to pull it from circulation even though it was doing well at the box office in some towns , it was just a little too much for the people of the early 1930's. In fact this masterpiece was banned from the UK for 30 years were in the 1960's a new generation of people discovered this film. Although it's found an audience of cult movie enthusiast like me, this film needs to be re-realised into mainstream cinema that way it could find a larger audience that it deserves. However it is now preserved by the National Film Preservation Board which in the coming years might bring it's much deserve and much need wider audience. 100% this without a doubt is Todd Browning's best film.