Review of Freaks (1932) by Elaine J — 04 Jun 2009

This film is, without a doubt, an absolute classic cinema piece! Banned for over 30 years in the UK, cut to shreds of which most of the original footage is lost, but it still delivers.

This is a wonderful film about freaks, sideshow oddities... but although we too may feel at times uneasy being 'voyeurs' of said freaks, such feelings are short-lived. If anything, and as spelt out from the beginning of the film, Browning wanted to point out how they are normal people with normal feelings (sadly, half the crew refused to work with the deformed actors and actresses and the initial 'normal' leading lady screamed and left the set and had to be replaced) and he certainly gets this across.

The use of real 'freaks' adds an eerie quality which could never have worked as well with actors portraying the disabilities. The sound quality is not great, but this is a problem with the film itself. Films like this would never be made today. A real oddity and a treat. So ahead of its time, absolutely brilliant take on human nature and how cruel we can be.