Freaks Isn't a Horror Film

Could you put "Freaks" (1932) in the horror section of your local Blockbuster? Sure, if you wanted to get it WRONG.
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[@ecyor0]

The thing I like about the gooble-gabble scene in particular is that Cleo is content to exist around the circus performers... until they start actively declaring her "one of us". And THAT'S what makes her snap and lash out violently - the implication that she's on the same level as them. That they're equals.

[@affsteak3530]

Olga Blacanova was so good in that scene. Just with her eyes and posture she conveys a woman absolutely overcome with disgust and rage.

[@tanjahorvatserbiaoldslavsh4685]

She thinks that she is better than them but she isn't. Inner beauty is more important than outer.

[@tomkellycartoons]

@@tanjahorvatserbiaoldslavsh4685 She’s not anywhere near as good as they are.

[@alxh3727]

I agree that the horror of that scene comes from the feeling of fear and disgust at the idea becoming "one of them", but there is also the horror of knowing this feeling is despicable and wrong. The horror of seeing that immoral feeling within.

[@quaseumhomemrenascentista6911]

She nailed it here as in The Man Who Laughs

[@apizzathatgiantforthesimpl5191]

I would argue Freaks is a horror film. It's a film about how "normal" people gladly abuse and take advantage of the disabled and disenfranchised just because they think those same people will be incapable of fighting back. And if that's not a real world horror, I don't know what is.

[@AlkisenSuper]

Yeah. The horror isn't the "freaks" themselves, it's the evil of the people taking advantage of them.

[@oddtail_tiger]

I had the same thought. In many ways, at least based on the description, it seems to be a typical horror narrative. We watch likeable, innocent people preyed upon by two disgusting monsters - it's just that both monsters happen to look pretty.

[@ianbyrne465]

Yeah, and the way it's portrayed the "Freaks" are pretty chill. They're happy to welcome them in with open arms, they're friendly and inviting and carry on happy relationships until these people show up and try to exploit them.

[@WobblesandBean]

@@AlkisenSuper It kinda doesn't help that in the end they work together to kill one man and brutally disfigure another. I don't argue that it feels vindicating, but to the eyes of the 1920s audience, the intent was clearly to frame them as horrific things coming to terrorize "normal people", which is really messed up.

[@WobblesandBean]

@@ianbyrne465 Again, until the final scene..... yeeeaaaahhh...

[@TheFrugalVideoGamer]

One of the most notable aspects of this movie was that the titular "Freaks" were all portrayed by people with *actual* abnormalities, not able-bodied folks pretending. That alone should earn this film more credit than it gets.

[@carsonsmith7314]

Yeah that does make this movie a rare breed of film now. And deserves a great amount of respect for that alone.

[@themedia1271]

The actors were also professional freakshow actors.

[@beaniepq]

Yes, but at the time such actors were usually underpaid and mistreated (unfortunately, some of the cast and crew were so disgusted by the "freaks" that they segregated them during lunch breaks). But overall, I agree--the director himself used to be a traveling performer and sought to pay tribute to his disabled cast-mates by giving them visibility and humanity.

[@lauracatania5063]

In the modern era, the closest we came was a single season of American Horror Story

[@sarahgray430]

@@lauracatania5063 What about Game of Thrones...my favorite characters are Brienne of Tarth, The Mountain, and Tyrion Lannister.

[@FerretinSocks]

I think this film is actually the reason I hate The Greatest Showman so much. It's insane a movie from almost 100 years ago can cast disabled actors but The Greatest Showman couldn't. Anyway, another banger of a video.

[@ariannawright7586]

This video made me think of The Greatest Showman too, that movie does such a nothing job at saying something meaningful about the characters that are a part of the show.

[@xammas1245]

Well P.T. Barnum was an absolute garbage human being as well.

[@StudioHannah]

Yeah, the music in TGS is fun, but it fell so short for me in so many ways.

[@cascharles3838]

@@StudioHannah I dont like the music either, it feels like they made every song deliberately vague and generic so they could be seen as stand alone pop songs and get on the charts, which is absolutely not the way to make a musical

[@nemo_of_napa]

Fuckin’ THANK YOU for pointing this out! That’s one of the big things that turns me off of the Greatest Showman. There’s only one disabled/ deformed actor, and the rest are just dancers in what I would call “crip-face.” There are plenty of deformed models that I think would be a great addition to the cast. And if they taught Zendaya to do aerials, they could certainly teach others some basic aerial moves. Honestly, put them in an aerial sling, spin them around and boom, people would loose their god damn minds. Anyway, sorry for the long rant, but his really gets my goat.

[@EphemeralTao]

The real monsters in _Freaks_ are the able-bodied people who abuse and marginalize the freaks, who are themselves the most intensely human characters in the film. Cleopatra is the most monstrous character in the entire story; while the freaks are the victims who, in the end, enact their own justice. That's the reason it's one of my favorite films. As for being a horror film, I'd say that it doesn't really fit well into any genre, with elements of horror, drama, even thriller.

[@ischeele7203]

They're actually quite sweet by welcoming her into their big family with a big toast

[@evan12697]

also the way they all engage with and care for each other is just kinda sweet to see, like I don’t know if there’s a better way to show what circus life on the road must’ve been like

[@PhoenixLyon]

@LogicianTenderstone Nicely said!✌😸

[@lastswordfighter]

No the side show performers and the two normal able bodied in this are monsters because of murder, attempted murder, the disfiguring of a person, the kidnapping, and holding someone hostage. They are monsters because they are homicidal criminals.

[@roseg2239]

Her bf was just as monstrous

[@manicpixie7024]

30:59 "Get his ass." Got a chuckle out of me lmao _Yes, get him._

[@coldcrashpictures]

Glad you like! I actually went back and recorded that line the day before I uploaded the final video! It felt like the clip needed a little extra OOMF to get the point across 😁

[@DavidLGill]

Yes! I loved this line as well. It's what I was TOTALLY THINKING. Definitely going to watch this film now. I've resisted it for reasons that aren't clear but this video has been super helpful.

[@catherinejohnson8315]

Glad you recorded it! Totes what I was thinking!! Also, this comment is for the holy algorithm

[@roxwyfe]

They did, actually, get his ass. Or should I say his "family jewels." The original film showed that Hercules wasn't killed - he was castrated.

[@erocrush]

I know, right? Who would think this scene was “horror” - its Hans’ friends getting his back and the “normal” people f*cked around and found out. I’d like to think I had that many friends down for me.

[@msfthe1st117]

maybe the real horror is ableism.

[@jostockton.]

...And also disproportionate revenge a la mutilating

[@awllypollyas8292]

Or the categories made to separate them

[@DenevaUnchained]

It was all along.

[@RicardoPetinga]

No need for "maybe".

[@gabbyb9418]

@@RicardoPetinga yeah the horror of ableism is well recorded lol Treatments to help with these disabilities? Uhhhh...not important, don't worry about that, point and laugh at the hairy woman, son!

[@marreco6347]

I find it odd that the freaks revenge is supposed to make them monstrous. There's plenty of movies where able bodies seek gruesome revenge, and people think it's sweet, not that they're monsters.

[@weirdXone]

Yeah. It'd be like saying that Nancy is the villain in Nightmare on Elm st. because she killed Freddy at the end.

[@nikotina899]

I always said Freaks it's revange porn and a great one. It doesn't make sense to me that people like Tarantino and not this movie, it's basically about humiliated people seeking revange and the viewer is allowed to enjoy it and have fun.

[@epicazeroth]

I certainly agree that the violence against Hercules is justified, but I can't think of any movie where deliberate mutilation and/or torture is presented as sweet.

[@jostockton.]

.... literally no movie, NO movie ever, has depicted mutilation as "sweet". Stop farming for Likes.

[@jostockton.]

@@weirdXone Yeah, I forgot the part where Freddy had been part of an oppressed class that got unfairly discriminated against by Nancy 🙄🙄🙄

[@SuperOnigiripanda]

VINDICATION!!!!! While the film is a mixed bag, I tried to argue to my professor that the film does at times humanize the circus performers by showing their day-to-day life and the fact that they have friends, families, lovers, and children, but he disagreed specifically because of the cigarette scene. Then again, didn’t believe that Woody Allen is a predator and forced me, the only black student, to argue about Night of the Living Dead’a commentary on race and state violence in a room of white students in St.Louis at the peak of the Michael Brown protests, so the man had a history of being wrong.

[@kaylemathewcomendador6964]

Oh no, someone with a disability is trying to do a daily task!

[@SuperOnigiripanda]

@@kaylemathewcomendador6964 did you know that if a non-abled bodied person exists in the public eye it’s exploitation?!

[@milascave2]

sam J: I loved the human caterpillar scene. I don't think it mocks or dehumanizes that guy at all. A guy with no arms or legs is able to roll and light a cigarette with just his lips! i WAS VERY IMPRESSED. IF ANYTHING IT SHOWS THE ABILITY OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT TO RISE ABOVE Bodily limits to accomplish things that seem impossible. It reminds me of a guy I knew with no legs who was s good at walking on his hands that he could go up and down a staircase as quickly as anybody else.

[@NondescriptMammal]

I had the same impression when I watched Freaks... put in the context of the times, it seemed clear that the movie made some real attempts to show the human side of the "freaks" such that the viewer can't just dismiss them as deformed persons to be gawked at. When you think about it, even to say the film tries to "humanize" them, implies that they need humanizing to become human... It also seems clear that the title is specifically chosen not to demean the circus performers, but to force the viewer to confront this fact... that most people would see these circus performers and naturally refer to them as "freaks" without even considering their humanity... but the movie forces you to see them as individual real people with feelings etc.

[@Parasiteve]

him rolling that cig was part of his everyday life wtf lol. oh and your professor really is stupid because the only reason the black lead in night of the living dead was cast was because he was the only good actor they had lmao. romero didn't plan on that shit, he didn't plan to make any messages persay but the movie played out to where it coincides with race at that time. so everyone thinks it was planned when it really wasn't. it also shows romero didn't care about race, he cared about having a good enough actor for his film no matter the race or sex. i guarantee if the lead happened to be white, no one would think anything of it, they'd feel bad he died sure but they wouldn't have tacked on the race issue, they basically made it up themselves when they saw the ending, just because it was 68 and just because it was a black man.

[@zoe_astra]

Apparently because Chaney was so famous for playing roles where he completely transformed himself there was a joke at the time that went, ‘Careful! Don’t step on that spider, it could be Lon Chaney!’

[@scottydu81]

Lon Chaney is my absolute favorite silent era actor!

[@PineappleLiar]

It’s films like these that make me wonder what the landscape of films would have looked like if the Hays code hadn’t had 30 years to cement a shit ton of hyper-normative tropes into every subsequent generation of cinema.

[@fpedrosa2076]

For real. Movies in the 20s were kinda wild before the Hayes code brought all that, if not to a halt, then at least into hiding until the 60s. Such a shame too.

[@heavysystemsinc.]

I'm not sure there would have been much difference. I personally am into old videogames and digging through it's evolutionary process and there was never any 'code' that was especially effective in dictating genre or presentation aspects of the games. If anything, marketing itself had more to do with what was popular and what wasn't. i.e. because Mario was a mascot that sold games, other companies quickly tried to do the same, with varying results. Likewise, Mortal Kombat and Narc did really well in terms of the semi-real but hyper violent presentation which a lot of companies also tried to replicate and was happening simultaneously with the cartoony mascot trends. Depending on a studio's primary audience they carved out for themselves more or less dictated what kind of approach they'd take. You may be itching to reference the ESRB, but it had little to no effect on what aesthetic games were taking and instead simply was there for parents to decide whether to buy the completely general audience presentation of a deep strategy game for their 5 year old or the ridiculously simplistic gameplay couched in ultra gore for themselves. I hope you caught the idiocy of the entire prospect there... Anyway, long story short, porn games were the only ones actually affect and continue to be affected, similar to cinema, where explicit sexual material is ostracized while films like John Wick and even Hostel are just fine to play in general cinemas. To me, the Hayes code seems to be in line with any marketing mechanic...I mean, what other reason is there that videogames are still to this day seen as 'dude-centric' than the fact marketing in the 80s decided videogames are toys for boys? What a fun world we live in.

[@PineappleLiar]

@@heavysystemsinc. you bring up an interesting point about the generally low-key influence of censorship on video games, and now I’m trying to think of what the ‘Freaks’ equivalent would be in terms of games. Part of the issue is that video games are only 40-ish years old, in terms of mass media, meaning we’ve only just hit around the time in movie history where the Hays code set in and some... other external events.... were effecting the nature of films. Now, trying to do a 1 to 1 comparison of film vs video games is obviously a lost cause, they do parallel in the fact that their initial form was less art and more novelty, and very few games from the early console days were doing more than testing your hand-eye coordination. I guess the point I want to get to is that we’ve yet to see how the actions of those early on in the gaming industry will effect what is to come. Will certain genres or themes prolific in early gaming be made to die out due to developers considering those ideas ‘stale’ or ‘unprofitable’? We’ve seen that happen to point and click adventure games and rhythm games (yes I know Friday Night Funkin and Beat Saber are around, but that’s 2 games where there used to be entire multi game franchises)

[@heavysystemsinc.]

​@@PineappleLiar I agree the artistic merits vary in terms of what they are trying to convey if anything at all (movies can convey nothing more than simple escapism or vouyerism or wish fulfillment just as games do) when comparing games to movies, but I was attempting to look at just game aesthetic, because that's generally the 1:1 comparison one can make to film, the passive presentation of the game. For instance, exploitation has been a part of gaming pretty early on. Death Race was the 70's GTA or Mortal Kombat, creating a lot of controversy and not really giving videogames a positive light in it's infancy (which was later made more broad in terms of smokey arcades with 'scary teens' hanging around or old folks supposedly being harassed in convenience stores by kids playing the 1 or 2 arcade machines located inside the store or laundromat). There was Escape from Castle Wolfenstein in 1981 I believe for Apple II which was, essentially, Wolfenstein 3D but without 3D and a lot more sneaking around. What's really fun is looking at a lot of game themes and presentation from a film perspective and then realizing a TON of Japanese produced arcade games were the equivalent of grindhouse flicks. Bionic Commando for NES (Rambo like figure with a special robotic arm rescues a POW and discovers Hitler has been resurrected), Contra (jeeze, this totally is an Italian style ripoff mashup of Predator and Aliens), etc. etc. The crazy thing is these games have a very high level of artistic presentation with regards to the technical aspects but it's all in service to really silly ripoffs (homages if you prefer) to more popular films. I mean, there's quite a ton of Rambo inspired games from the 80s, although Rambo from 2008 got a direct arcade game tie in that plays essentially the same as Operation Wolf from 1988, which itself was inspired quite directly by Rambo III, but then there was a different Rambo III game released to arcades which more or less is Contra but in 3rd person 3D, etc. etc.) I don't know where I'm going with this, but a lot of games are very exploitation in nature with regards to the stuff from the 80s and 90s. There were a few games that were more inspired rather than just borrowing ideas from films and slapping a joystick and coin mech on them, especially for early computers like Maniac Mansion which gives off the impression of being a schlocky B movie, but goes it's own direction with it's own unique style of humor and respect for it's inspiration. A good deal of interactive fiction (as it's called now, they used to be called adventure games) were quite unique despite also being inspired previous works in film and literature. I guess if I was to tie this into Freaks, I think if I were to look at Freaks in terms of what game closely maps to it's history of being called one thing but then later appraised to be another, I honestly am not quite sure what game(s) that'd be. I feel like Grand Theft Auto fits the bill (the original one) because on it's surface, it looks like you're a criminal and you're rewarded for mowing down anyone in your way, stealing cars, etc. But upon closer inspection, it's full of satire, especially of American culture of violence and in-game punishes you for being a depraved murderous criminal: run over a person with your car, and cops immediately swarm you preventing your real goal of just delivering drugs or being a getaway driver for a bank robber, etc. Even further into it, the advertisements on it's in-game-radio-stations are full of harsh commentary on everything from Big Pharma's profit motives, men's insecurity about penis sizes, etc. all in a Robocop-like fashion...in other words, come for the spectacle, laugh at the controversey, stay for the gameplay and ponder on it's commentary of modern life and society's values.

[@razminfox1787]

@@heavysystemsinc. I mean the whole rating system trails I see as the code for games

[@ATakTakTak]

Interesting that the protagonists hunting the murderers here was received as "too scary and dehumanizing", while movies from around the time like Frankenstein and Phantom of the Opera ended with angry mobs saving the day from the monsters and we've grown used to it.

[@DarkLordFluffee]

even the original ending of Chaney's phantom of the opera was changed! The phantom was supposed to have his change of heart and let Christine go before disappearing, as it was in the book, but because of "sensibilities" he had to die in the end via mob.

[@fiercerodent]

I can sort of understand if people feel the mutilation and torture is extreme. It's harder to emphasize with a needlessly cruel protagonist, and had they just killed her it wouldn't have that effect. But that was surely just been a poor choice for shock value, rather than an attempt to turn the protagonists into villains

[@Lohengrin1850]

As a disabled person who felt really triumphant watching the end of Freaks...this video made me incredibly happy!! Thank you for sharing knowledge of this film's history and creating awareness of the bullshit that is eugenics ^_^

[@scottydu81]

Remarkable the bumber of people openly supporting that tripe. Iceland brags about their near 100% abortion rate for fetuses diagnosed with downs syndrome. Fucked depraved.

[@apex2000]

It is a triumphant ending. The circus folks are the good guys.

[@foxfairchild2458]

@@apex2000 wellllll I’d disagree actually the freaks where maliciously and against there will forced to turn into the same horrible ugly vicious monsters the people tormenting them always where to begin with it’s quite sad actually

[@nunyabizness3777]

@@Hartley_Hare It's not voluntary for the baby with Down Syndrome. Think about your thinking here: if you're a person who'd be "difficult" or "challenging" to raise, it's OK to murder you. At least if you're small and hidden. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the defendant *volunteered* to kill that guy, so he should go free." Really?

[@nunyabizness3777]

​@@Hartley_Hare Legally, maybe. Morally, no. Especially if the woman in question is one's wife, and the abortion she's wanting to have would kill one's child. (Wondering if you think women should have a say in when a country goes to war given that they're not subject to Selective Service...)

[@arcadiaberger9204]

I am reminded of a comment by the daughter of a circus freak who said her father's appearance never bothered her. What frightened her were the screams of the audience members who came to see him. She wondered what was *_wrong_* with those people...?

[@TheMovingEye]

If Freaks would be made today, A24 would pay good money to have it in their catalogue. It fits neatly in "arthouse horror" or whatever you might call their lineup.

[@Alyboba]

Not gonna lie, I would love to see an A24 version of Freaks!

[@carsonsmith7314]

@@Alyboba yeah that does sound pretty good. Maybe even Oscar worthy.

[@michelhays]

There's a whole American Horror Story season based on it, where disabled actors are cast...in supporting roles...

[@pastelpurpledeathbed]

Freaks deserved so much better. I just hope someone finds those lost clips of the movie 😔

[@elilass8410]

I'm french. we were shown this movie in high school, as part of a discussion on how movies frame characters' pov vs how books do. we were told about the movie's history, including its reputation as a horror movie, but the teachers also dismissed it and told us to look out for how the *performers* viewed things, how they were framed and the times we as audience literally saw their point of view. it was a powerful experience, and lead to a great talk on disability and what gets perceived as "normalcy". it's certainly not perfect, but I can't think of literally any other movie that centers disabled people this way, humanizes us so profoundly. particularly for physically disabled and disfigured people, who are still used as shock value or jokes today's movies, whether horror or else. (looking at you, ari aster)

[@elektra121]

Am a German teacher and just considering showing and analyzing the movie in class.

[@elilass8410]

@@elektra121 please do! it was very impactful for me as a teen :)

[@elektra121]

@@elilass8410 As a teenager, in the days before the internet, I had heard of the film and always wanted to watch it. Even the very sparse things I had read about it in a TV magazine were enough to be fascinated. Also, from the start it was introduced to me as a masterpiece.

[@Toon_Topaz]

Ohhhh I was also in a French highschool and had the same experience. It was super interesting and I really enjoyed the movie.

[@elilass8410]

@@Toon_Topaz attends, par hasard t'étais pas au CIV?

[@lilithiaabendstern6303]

"everyone can become disabled at any point in life" - especially after the decade of WWI, of which I think this film is an echo of how to cope with the war invalids coming home from the trenches being psychically and mentally disabled and/or have undergone a personality change due to trauma - we had artists participating in WWI and trying to cope with their experience threw art

[@TheRealFlurrin]

This stuck out to me: the first scene of the film being people screaming in horror at a presumed terrifying exhibit, and then it cuts to Cleopatra, as she was before. Cleopatra before is morally reprehensible, the shots leading us to think things may not be as they seem.

[@xanderguyer7512]

Frida is SUCH a 1930s Starlet. Her makeup, her hair, her vibes. She looks so on point.

[@brunobucciaratiswife]

She’s absolutely stunning and glamorous

[@kookykritter2912]

Seriously she is so pretty. Serving looks like its no big deal.

[@sophiatalksmusic3588]

Right!! My friend and I were watching this movie a few days ago, and we couldn't stop commenting on how pretty all her outfits were!

[@dmer-zy3rb]

she wasnt called the miniature Mae West for no reason!

[@RUSTTYHAM]

frieda was ALWAYS serving

[@nikotina899]

I always had an identification with the so called "freaks", so I absolutely love this movie. To me the "we accept you" scene before the humiliation is just so pure. Disabled people, those who are ostracized and try so hard to still find a sense of community and companionship, they accepting someone is a great honour and the true horror is how utterly disgusted the woman is at this idea and how she actively wants to harm them for it. They enacting revange is some of the best revange porn I've seen. She was a monster for no reason, so they showed her their monstrous and very human side.

[@ranniazorya]

I loved that the gooble-gabble sequence puts Cleopatra physically in the same room as the freaks and because she's the only 'normal' one, she visibly becomes the freak, the outlier in that room.

[@ashleylunette2187]

I remember in the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror, the one of us scene was shown so menacingly, but here, even without much context, its just a fun little chant from a group of people. From the info in this video, looks like ableist perspectives really had a lot to do with that reading of the scene (unsurprisingly). Great video!

[@nickrustyson8124]

God that sketch sucks, because like you said, it's just the ablest perception of the film, but it's also boring as shit, Homer is the bad guy because Marge is a sweet cinnamon bun who can never be the bad guy even in a Treehouse of Horror, there is no good jokes, like I only remember three, Moe being the scariest freak of them all, which is overdone by that point in the show, a call back to a earlier Sketch, and that ending which just seems like they had no idea on how to end it

[@limelantern5637]

It shall be law that Freaks is analyzed and reconsidered every 60 years. See y'all in 2081

[@desireesmith862]

What makes you say sixty? As opposed to fifty, thirty etc?

[@limelantern5637]

@@desireesmith862 He mentions near the end of the video that the movie went under critical re-assesment in the 1960s, and as we are in the 2020s, that puts this video re-assesment about sixty years from the start of the 1960s.

[@commanderkruge]

I really like "Freaks" - you come for what looks like a rather sleezy exploitation movie at first, but then it turns the story one might have expected on it's head with the "normal" people being the villains of the piece. And while the end is rather grim it doesn't feel to me as if it was ever meant to depict the "freaks" as monsters, but this was the righteous uprising of the downtrodden. Sad and regrettable perhaps, but truly understandable. All in all it really isn't so much a horror story as it is more of a moral piece with a big helping of "not the outside of a person matters but what they do". Actually it would fit quite well into the original Twilight Zone - it often dealt with issues that also make the foundation for this story...

[@auldthymer]

I respond to "Freaks" as a tale of revenge: I'm not sure I endorse the acts but I d*** sure feel the need. I feel that need for revenge is the greatest humanizing factor.

[@buttercupghost]

Me: "Ah, that's bullshit." You: "For what it's worth, I call bullshit." We were on the same wave length, lmao. This idea that pain is needed to create art is one I've always hated. It's a toxic idea and has lead to the harassment of actors from directors in the name of "authenticity". Just look at what happened on the set of the shinning. Completely unnecessary and grotesque treatment of Shelley Duvall, and yet people defend it by saying it was "needed" to accurately portray her characters pain.

[@awllypollyas8292]

And with The Pianist's main actor starving himself physically and socially, isolating himself everyday to play the character, then after the filming was finished, he was ruined and had a really hard time adjusting back to his reality and his celebrity.

[@ltlbuddha]

Method acting is bullshit. Plain and simple.

[@queerlibtardhippie9357]

@@ltlbuddha It's not bullshit, it's just almost always unnecessary. There are very few A list actors who won't eventually get what the director wants. Forced method acting is just impatience.

[@ltlbuddha]

@@queerlibtardhippie9357 It is never necessary. The idea that it has any real effect is correlation, not causation. In other words, some great actors studied "The Method" and people think that means it works, rather than these actors were just preternaturally gifted. Love your nom du clavier, BTW.

[@ladyredl3210]

I agree absolutely. Suffering is just suffering, it doesn't make you a better artist in and of itself.

[@xanderguyer7512]

I'm actually impressed with Hans and Frida's characterization. I fully expected it to be a horror movie about "freaks", but Hans and Frida have romance, agency, and inner lives. They get to be characters and protagonists. They aren't jokes or monsters, as I expected out of the movie.

[@ave_r_ie]

Hans and fridas actors are actually siblings, so there’s a fact to kinda ruin the romance aspect

[@rudetuesday]

I first saw this film as part of a horror film class. Framing Freaks as a horror film alongside the Universal monsters and various Cronenberg works did the movie a huge disservice. However, our classroom discussions were usually pretty bland, save that week. We students rarely agreed so closely about the films, but Freaks brought us all together to argue against the professor, to his great shock and alarm. That was a great session.

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

What did the professor argue?

[@almishti]

kind of echoing the climactic scene of the movie in a way...

[@bloodycoffee9293]

In my old film class, one of our assignments was to pick any movie from the 1930s and write a thesis on it. I'm a huge horror fan, and I wanted to pick one that I've never seen before, which is how I found Freaks. I was also confused, because besides the last few minutes, there was nothing horrifying about it. The only thing that came across as horrifying was how they mutilated Cleopatra, the villain. And it was more the act of mutilation that I was shaken by, not that it wasn't justified within the narrative. That scene in the rain was tense, and pure revenge, a family protecting their own from those that would exploit them. Frankly, I was more surprised that a film from the 30s attempted to humanize the disabled, unlike any other film at the time, horror especially. Which is why it's disappointing that contemporary audiences still write it off as exploitation.

[@rooseveltrdPR]

fun fact: Harry Earles and Daisy Earles, who play Hans and Freida, were brother and sister.

[@thec0untess]

The Doll Family

[@robotrix]

They got out of Germany just in time.

[@nathanliu8757]

As someone who's physically disabled--legally blind--I appreciate you bringing up how rare it is to see disabled characters with sex lives in film. People seem uncomfortable with the idea of us "breeding," as the Eugenicists would no doubt put it. Which is why I'm so happy when I see disabled characters, especially ones played by disabled actors, getting the chance to bang and get married. Something that is still rare, though thankfully becoming much more common.

[@somedragonbastard]

Gotta say, it's very telling that in films, the revenge of the able bodied is glorified, and the revenge of the disabled is treated as horrifying

[@Boggythefroggy]

As a disabled person myself I really liked this video and your breakdown of this movie, despite its problems it’s actually nice seeing disabled actors on screen for once just chilling and living life. Just seeing that cup scene was heart wrenching...just, thanks for talking about this.

[@jonathanhunter8076]

pains me to see how much Ryan Murphy 'took inspiration' for his characters in freakshow

[@coldcrashpictures]

Oh God… I never even watched that. My hopes were thru the floor.

[@jonathanhunter8076]

@@coldcrashpictures I knew he used the setting as inspiration but never got round to watching the film, but after seeing your video he took plot lines and characters that are very very ‘similar’ to the film

[@niraea]

that's the season me and my mom quit watching the show because it was just... fucking gross. even as someone hardened to grotesque imagery. perhaps because we were very much aware of how disabled people are, y'know, people with lives and struggles and happiness. it was just so pointlessly disgusting in several different meanings of the word and we never touched that show again. not the least bit surprised that murphy lifted so much from freaks. but hey at least i have a new movie to watch.

[@jonathanhunter8076]

@@niraea it would be like if he had put in storylines and characters from the craft into coven, the thing that annoys me the most is all his storylines are plotted around his able bodied actors etc, like it was all about Jessica, Sarah, Evan and the ‘freaks’ were all just there to further their story

[@niraea]

@@jonathanhunter8076 for real! it's brazen! tangent about something i was reminded of. another thing that bothered me. around the time freak show aired i was walking around austin and found my way in this gothy little museum/sideshow on 6th street. the tour guide had syndactyly just like evan's character in freak show had. and during the show he specifically called out AHS for blowing past entertainers like himself to hire pretty, able bodied people. it especially ticked me off because this guy put on a great show and i could totally see him on TV. and he is not the only one out there with visible disabilities AND a great knack for performance. god i wish and hope for a hollywood where casting directors do not ignore actors living with the real life conditions of these characters. and furthermore, don't portray such characters as shameful curiosities, weird freaks to be gawked at rather than human beings with their own unique problems just like anyone else. the talent and public figures we're missing out on due ableism and the like just saddens me.

[@ithicathegreat8107]

I got so genuinely excited to see that little dot next to coldcrashpictures. Loved Second Service btw. I hope you enjoy making these as much as I enjoy watching them.

[@williamtoyfell7969]

I'm disabled -but not visibly, so take that for what it's worth - and my reading of this film is pretty much the same: I love this film, it's better representation than anything for decades, and I enjoyed AHS Season 4's homage to it.

[@Supermariorpg6]

I think I have a good genre name to call Freaks. It's a Social-Horror it's a film the tackles the the horrors of oppression and radical discrimination. Maybe put it up there next to Get Out.

[@oyinkansolaadebajo9716]

YES! That's exactly what I was thinking. It's horror in the same sense that Parasite and Sorry to Bother You are horror.

[@affsteak3530]

Now I have a name for my favorite horror sub-genre!

[@bepisthescienceman4202]

Would tucker and Dale vs evil count as social horror

[@Supermariorpg6]

@@bepisthescienceman4202 I consider that as more Horror-Comedy. But it does have a bit of Social-Horror elements to it.

[@anomalocaris7436]

like joker?

[@uprightape100]

"A chicken........we waited two hours for a fucking chicken". -a fellow theater patron, after we saw Freaks (in a "theater". Ask your parents) some fifty years ago.

[@liannsmith7317]

a theater? is that some kind of sauce?

[@judyemmstoyradio3064]

Theaters are still around today???

[@brunobucciaratiswife]

She’s a duck >:( right..?

[@VValkyrie]

Read the short story it's based on.

[@NeilSonOfNorbert]

Always great to get a new video from you Serge. Also here is something to contemplate, the the mob of "freaks" hunting down Cleo and Hercules at the end is the same trope as the mob hunting the monster from other classic horror films(Frankenstein, Phantom of the Opera, ect). Making the "horror" of that sequence the horror of being on the recieving end of an armed mob out for vengeance.

[@l.a.gothro3999]

Wallace Ford, who plays the clown, was a great actor. I loved him in "The Informer" and as the cab driver in "Harvey". He deserves a lot more attention than he gets.

[@JustinIverson]

I don't know how but we had the exact same experience with bravo's 100 scariest movie moments. And I just happened to look it up like two weeks ago! I'm a big fan of what you're doing!

[@dumbbo1]

“You mess with one of us, you mess with ALL of us!” They cut off the “big woman’s” legs and, apparently, her tongue, and disfigured her face, leaving her in a perpetually frightened state. (The chicken appearance was, of course, just a costume. No witchcraft involved.) Now she is literally down to their level. As for the strong man (who was miscast and looked more like a “thin but wiry man”), his fate was supposedly spelled out in a deleted scene depicting him singing in an unusually high pitched voice.

[@justice8718]

"his fate was supposedly spelled out in a deleted scene depicting him singing in an unusually high pitched voice." It's likely because he is a freak that happens to look normal, they give him a lighter punishment that reflects the abnormalities within him.

[@daftpunklover1022]

They probably made him a eunuch

[@melaneykk5986]

This is one of my favorite movies. I grew up with a handicapped mother and I am now disabled. (Yes I used those terms deliberately.) I was a fan of old horror as a kid and searced out any old film I could find Freaks was a strange surprise to me. The only horror I saw was the able-bodied people treated those who were not. It still resonates. Thank you for bringing new light to it.

[@LauraSomeNumber]

I think what freaked me out was that they were these nice people who collectively snapped at the end.

[@GeorgiaGeorgette]

I'm quite severely disabled with a 'freak show' condition (Ehlers-Danlos syndrome hypermobility) and I just want to thank you for this video.

[@SebastianSeanCrow]

24:30 as a kid my uncle had a friend who didn’t have fully developed arms and she did most everything with her feet cuz she learned to be quite dexterous with them. Seeing that performer drink wine with her feet just feels like the most mundane normal thing to me.

[@juliamavroidi8601]

"Hilariously anticlimactic and I couldn't identify the protagonist if you put a gun to my head" That's just book accurate tho. Srsly tho, thanks for putting a spotlught on Freaks. Very misunderstood

[@AliciaNyblade]

This film was so far ahead of its time. I'm a playwright and actress; I majored in theater in college. And I also happen to be visually impaired, have been since birth. "Freaks" speaks to not only problems faced by communities of disabilities at large, but especially to those of us who are trying to make our voices heard in the arts, never mind make careers out of them. To this day, the industry is often only interested in certain types of stories about us, the kind many of us refer to as "inspiration p0rn", and characters with disabilities are nine times out of ten played by able-bodied actors because disability is still seen as something a performer can pull out of their bag of tricks. It's frustrating and ridiculous now, in 2021, that it's still so commonplace. A production today would be blasted if a character of color was played by a white actor in makeup, as it rightfully should, so it's disheartening that people and characters with disabilities are so rarely included in discussions of "diverse casting".

[@StephenLeGresley]

I've never been both informed, entertained and proud to be so from a video before. As a disabled person myself thank you for making this video. I will promote this video every way I can because more people need to see the sentiments presented in it. Well done mate!

[@endergamer7483]

There’s something so wholesome about Schlitze reacting to the compliment of his dress. I do not know if he could speak, but you could just see the look of: this old thing? Thank you.

[@jjmblue7]

The "horror" scene reminds me of the scene from the first Toy Story where the toys rise up against their tormentor Sid. I'm guessing it was at least in part inspired by Freaks?

[@annadushenkina3512]

I love this film so much! I had a similar reaction: "wait, I thought it was supposed to be horror, not a bunch of people going about their daily lives while worrying about their friend's unfortunate love affair" I wish the lost half-hour wasn't lost, it probably contained more of this heartwarming stuff.

[@quillsoul]

Asa disabled person, at first while watching this, a great wave of shame washed over me as you talked about shame. But then, I realized, this video was in a way healing all the shame and guilt I've felt as a burden to those around me. Thank you.

[@organicspectroscopy7242]

This film was so ahead of its time. Thank you so much for this detailed review and description. I loved every second of it! Your in-depth analysis had me hooked! You did justice to the message this movie was trying to portray back then. ☺️

[@freelanceangel8962]

"Freaks" is only terrifying to people who profit off of exploiting others or dehumanizing anyone not exactly like themselves. It's a crime movie--crime is plotted, crime happens, crime is punished--and absolutely glorious.

[@NihilisticWhim]

I can't remember a time when I didn't love this movie. I always identified with the performers because it was just so obvious to me. At the worst this is a "thriller" movie, maybe a "revenge thriller" but that's it. It still boggles my mind how people can just identify with villains because they're "sexy" to them. Sexy doesn't trump evil!

[@GiulianaBruna]

I'm not surprised about the fitzgerald bit. Guy was not a great person.

[@purcascade]

Dude was traaaaaaash.

[@marianahernandez4679]

As someone who loves F.Scott even though he’s problematic, this was his “my wife is in and out of the asylum and possibly recently tried to kill us and our child the other day so I’m a raging alcoholic and am having an Affair with a young actress” faze so he was probably quite literally tripping

[@JP-ve7or]

My favorite story about Fitzgerald was when he made a cutting remark about Joan Crawford to the press. Her response was something like, "Oh yes, he came to one of my parties once. He spent the whole evening next to my liquor cabinet."

[@hyacinthlynch843]

Sure the man had his faults, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he was a great writer.

[@GiulianaBruna]

@@hyacinthlynch843 of course not. I'm sleeping next to one of his books. But he was not a great person.

[@Rosemont104]

I do appreciate how you cannot simply put this film into a neat little box, but that it can have elements of multiple genres inside. Truly a time before "robotic story math" (as Maxwell Atoms once put modern Hollywood storytelling) indeed.

[@lh9591]

Idk why but the line “But then the Strongman learned about consent” had me rolling. Not sure if it was intended to be delivered comically.

[@ShiraCheshire]

My first experience with Freaks was being linked one of those out of context clips- We accept her, one of us. I remembering being so confused, because everyone was talking about it as if it was something ominous or terrifying. I couldn't figure out what they were talking about. Even out of context, to me it always seemed like a sweet moment followed by heartbreak. These people going out of their way to formally accept this woman and make her feel welcome, like family, and she rejects their kindness.

[@carly2290]

I watched this movie late at night when I was so young that I thought it was a dream and not an actual movie. I love KZbin for this reason. That weird and obscure memory that you can’t even name? Here it is! And from one of your youtubers, no less!

[@blueblank8287]

Lon Chaney’s filmography sure sounds friggin’ wild. Also, I somehow hadn’t watched your videos for a while until this video was recommended to me today - I don’t know how I forgot, as you always have very mature, genuinely-interested and -passionate, and best-of-faith things to say, and I’m remembering to sub this time! Great job on this one, sir!!

[@NestorMandela]

Fuck I love this channel. I saw Freaks for the first time in my early teens and due to my young age I couldn't help but to feel some discomfort watching the "freaks" daily lives. But even then I could clearly understand that the monsters were Cleopatra and Hercules and you could bet I was rooting for the freaks to give them why they deserved. In particular, the famous "one of us" scene was heartbreaking for me. Keep the good work, I adore you ;-)

[@FritzMonorail]

A while back my dad ordered a movie on Amazon that he really wanted. I can't remember what the name of that movie was but I do remember that it came in a three pack with two other movies and this was one of them. So on a whim we decided to watch it and it was a fascinating experience that I've never forgotten.

[@jakethet3206]

Y’know, I can think of a whole other reason why it doesn’t matter what section of Blockbuster Freaks is in: because all the Blockbusters are gone now.🤣

[@thedukeofweasels6870]

When people take the "one of us" banquet part out of contest they frame it as maniacally chanting "one of us" with hostility and malice as if it is about forcibly turning someone into a freak. Actually it's the exact opposite, they were celebrating welcoming a new member into their family in a display of wholesome love and acceptance. the only reason she's actually turned into a freak it's because of her own despicable actions, and that happens completely unrelated to what they were saying before she showed her true character. Feels like an extra sleazy to misinterpret that scene in particular as something evil and I doubt it would have become so sensationalized part of the horror if these people it didn't look different. In these communities it's very hard to trust outsiders because of all of the prejudice mistreatment and exploitation. When they're coerced into letting their guard down and truly accept somebody as worthy but they betray that trust it in such a cruel way it's heartbreaking.

[@justice8718]

We also saw two normal men married conjoined girls.

[@DenevaUnchained]

Regarding Lugosi‘s surname - „Blasko“ would be pronounced „Bla-SH-ko.“

[@jennymunday7913]

Lon Chaney was an amazing physical actor. Like the effects he did to his face for Phantom of the Opera or tying his legs for the film mentioned here. Wow, he's still impressive. 1920s horror was really amazing. You figure a lot of the people watching it had survived WW1, they were collectively going through a lot mentally. Think about all the horrible stuff they saw and were helpless to change. Its not often things from 100 years ago can really connect with people today but most of those old horror films actually do. They're still creepy or scary, and the title cards give them an almost comic book feel.

[@geraldine1744]

I had no idea American Horror story season 4 was based on that movie. Well I had no idea that movie existed so...anyway, as always Serge's videos are just an absolute delight!

[@camilelcoyne]

I love that you made this! Freaks has been one of my favorite films since I saw a pirated copy of it on VHS in the mid 1980s and it's such a special film. It's one I'm hesitant to recommend when I talk about must-watch pre-code movies with folks, but now that we have your well-considered and thoughtful take on it, I'll be recommending Freaks more with this video as a perfect pairing of canon and analysis. Thank you so much!

[@katsucandy]

i remember watching this in high school and being completely captivated by how.... normalized everything was, to the point where at times i forgot this was set in a circus, and these people were part of the "freak show", instead of just being a community of people... living together and existing. i remember being interested but not too surprised about how some of the actors did things depending on their body types/disabilities, and realizing that yeah, that made sense, it was an efficient use of their energy. we take abled, "normal" bodies for granted far too often (in a "this is the only model that exists" way), and i found it educative more than a "spectacle" to get to see those shots (although i understand where the gawking angle could come from, and how that would be dehumanizing-- but i'm also the kind of person who'll "gawk" at anything and anyone i find interesting, whether it's because their hair is extra shiny and braided prettily or their humongous scarf makes a very aesthetic contrast with their body that makes me want to draw them.... so i also struggle a little to fully understand the (ugly and dehumanizing) subtext of gawking) and generally just.... get to see differently abled people, in all forms and shapes, go about their day to day lives. my hs teacher showed us this movie with the clear intention of making us think about who was the "hero" and who was the "villain" in this, about what it meant empathizing with the "freaks" while being repulsed by the able-bodied, "normal" villains of the film, to dig into that subconscious tendency to empathise with the "familiar" and write the rest as "Other" and scary. He never called it a horror movie afaik, and i never thought of calling the movie as such until i saw the title of this video. if it's a horror, it's one about how awful we treat marginalized groups, and how morally corrupt and cruel people can be towards folks who'd accept them as "one of them", who'd welcome them into their community/family despite having virtually nothing in common. Loved this analysis on the movie, its history (which i knew nothing of tbh) and the historical context under which it came to exist. wish movies nowadays pushed for body diversity and the normalization of disabilities and all the forms they can take, if only just so that we wouldn't need to watch a movie from the 30s to get a feel for exactly how diverse human bodies can be.

[@DeathnoteBB]

10:29 That sounds less lost, and more “Hey does anyone know what all of these films were? Oh the guy we just fired did? Well fuck”

[@TheSilverVixen]

I went into Freaks the same way you did, saw Bravo's Scariest Movie Moments and looked for the movie. Bought a copy, and it's one of my favorites in my collection. Definitely wouldn't classify it as a horror, at least not at face value.

[@Lili-ib2rh]

Thank you for talking about one of my favourite films. As a kid, I didn't understand why people talked about freaks as if they were the scary thing in the movie, Cleo, Hercules and the other normal people cruel to the circus people (like the man who hits Joseph-Josephine park when they watch him) were not only the real horrors of the movie but they were easy to find in reality.

[@charlieogre4537]

Harry and Daisy Earles (Hans and Frieda), along with their two other siblings, were all Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz. Harry was actually in The Lollipop Guild. Angelo Rositto (Angelo) was Master in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

[@obamafashionshow2704]

This is one of my top five favorite movies, Frieda and her being forced to watch Hans be not only infatuated with someone else but having his dignity stripped away and how much that destroys her makes me cry.

[@clovercard22]

With all its controversy I honestly find this movie just deeply fascinating. Knowing the historic context, how disabled people were treated at the time and all the production problems it went through to me its honestly kind of a miracle that it wasn't butchered beyond recognition in the editing room or even that it exists at all.

[@lenaeospeixinhos]

Your videos are always a pleasure! And thank you for introducing us to this amazing film. I saw it more as a celebration of the differently-abled than an exhibition: the domesticity of their lives shown not as something to gawk at but to say "the day to day life is the same for everyone"

[@talic-os5899]

6:17 The fact that he is not crying in pain during the whole movie proves to me that he is an amazing actor.

[@tannaeros]

My mother actually saw the first run of this. She paid a dime. She used this as a lesson since I was five to never ask her for money. She got the dime from her mother and was so horrified that she had nightmares for approximately a week. "See what happens when you ask your parents for money?" (I love Frieda, though. She speaks so properly- and Johnny Eck was a pioneer in the art of the Baltimore screen.)

[@braidedgirl757]

This was such a good analysis...I like the take American Horror Story took on the film also...showing the day to day of the so called "freaks" and having you empathize and root for them

[@gozerthegozarian9500]

Excellent video essay on this unfairly maligned classic! It was actually way ahead of its time in the way the so-called freaks are portrayed. The real villains are the normal people. I'd never even heard of this great film until Kyle Kallgren did a video essay on it a few years ago, which is also very much worth watching.

[@viktoriaironpride4977]

I consider the most terrifying thing about "Freaks" is when the "freaks" come after Cleo in the dark and the storm, thunder and lightning, crawling and flopping through the mud, and you wonder, "What are they going to do to her?" Well, we find out!

[@Aster_Risk]

My family loves this movie so much that we've been doing the gooble gobble chant most of my life when we have family dinners. It's not all the time, but at least a few times a year and particularly when we have someone outside the family come to dinner. The "freaks" are incredibly sympathetic and I haven't met a single person who watched this and didn't root for them to get "revenge." The ending is the only part that I personally find horrific, because I'm terrified of being mutilated or tortured.

[@strawberrysangria1474]

I absolutely love this film. I think Cleopatra's character especially represents the corruption of charm and manipulation that many freakshows were built on. How dare these deformed people try to bring her into their family, but I guess their money isn't nearly so dirty to use. The horror is that in the end, her and Heracles finally force the family's hand in order to protect their own, and when Cleopatra is mutilated, she's alone in a box with people gawking at her. She's now one of them, but nobody accepts her. The horror isn't in the violence, it's in the message.

[@jelsner5077]

When I was in college in the 80s, most cities had at least one movie theater that played old classic movies from the 1920s-1960s. That's where I first saw Freaks. Too bad those theaters have mostly closed. I miss them. Speaking of Freaks, I was also introduced to the movie by a song from The Ramones called Pinhead. The chorus of the song goes:"Gabba-gabba, we accept you, we accept you, one of us!"

[@charlesclinton3305]

The Ramones song is why I clicked on this video in the first place.

[@kookykritter2912]

28:47 this scene made me smile so hard lmao. The knife is so funny and him just sitting there waiting to strike while you can see her afraid before he even pulls out the knife. This movie is very good but im confused as to how anyone could think this was a horror movie against the “freaks”. It’s literally just Cleopatra and Hercules(i think that was his name) (from what i saw) being an absolute trash human being. Now thats the horrifying part. Completely agree.

[@rockhistoria2537]

I imagine him just saying "Bitch" after pulling the knife

[@khazermashkes2316]

I’m looking forward to sharing this once it has captions!

[@bradleynoneofyourbizz5341]

Yeah. @coldcrashpictures, you need to address that.

[@israelistyping]

yeah loved this video much! but hard to watch with no captions :(

[@LoverofLiszt]

"Now, here is a riddle to guess if you can. (Sing, the bells of Notre Dame.) Who is the monster and who is the man?"

[@LepidopteranLiliumoth]

This is a strongly held opinion about one of my favorite films i'd never expect to see in a youtube title for such a long and good video.

[@thecouncilofbrazilianchads5580]

Fun fact in the original ending we would not only had seen Cleopatra now the “Human Duck” but also an emasculated Hercules singing in the same side show as Cleopatra is in

[@nixienooo]

As a disabled person, this movie has such better disability representation than like, Sia’s Music. This movie is over 80 years old and actually treats its disabled actors without making them a walking stereotype of their disability

[@eshbena]

I saw the movie long before I heard it was horror and I was so baffled. The whole movie is about how these people are human beings who deserve dignity and respect. I might categorize it as revenge fantasy, or even a plea for compassion.

[@sandeesimons6045]

I am glad that you included clips of "the Fly" with Jeff Goldblum. One thing I remember from that movie is that even as he morphed deeper into"Brindlefly" he never became animalistic nor base and vindictively evil. Hence, the scene where he grabs the shotgun with his fly "claw" and without a word, begs to be put out of his misery BEFORE he became what he loathed. Brilliant.😊

[@shadowboxing7029]

*slowly realises where American Horror Story got a lot of its inspiration from*

[@GrandArchPriestOfTheAlgorithm]

The Church of the Algorithm officially certifies this video in the ones and zeroes of The Recommending Holiness.

[@liannsmith7317]

with this reply, The Church will elevate it to Recommendation Papacy

[@eldorados_lost_searcher]

My algorithmic bump I give unto you, and bump unto each other.

[@bettievw]

Praise be, as always!

[@duchessofshinies4696]

I took a Disability in Media class over the Summer and this film made up like a third of the class. Really interesting stuff.

[@jenniferkincaid]

This commentary/analysis/background video is one of the best things I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Thank you so much for making it.

[@Facuando216]

LOVED IT! Great video, I think it's fair to compare Freaks to Parasite, as long as you identify with the othered person you will call it a drama, but if you happend to idetify with the real villiain (rich person in 2020 or eugenics folk in 1932) it will definitly feel as a horror film. And I'm ok with that. Make them fear Browning, make them freak.

[@fisheyenomiko]

"The Penalty" & "The Unknown"... Chaney was such a legend, man...