Review of Freaks (1932) by Thorne W — 25 Nov 2009

I guess I sort of get what they were trying to accomplish with the movie, but regardless of their intentions, it still comes across as being really exploitative and voyeuristic to the point that the horror depicted onscreen is mild compared to the fact that the filmmakers and real actors all agreed to be a part of a project that labels these all too real people with extraordinary features "freaks".

This is just made worse by the knowledge that somebody had to write the film, and there are times when the insults slung at the sideshow performers visibly jar them, something I would attribute to brilliant acting, but given the quality of the rest of the performances, there's no way for that to be the explanation.