‘Freaky Tales’ is precisely what it sounds like: Freaky

As I walked into the cinema this past Thursday to watch Pedro Pascal’s latest film, “Freaky Tales,” I realized that I had no idea what the movie was even about. I read online that it was an action/comedy with the star of “The Last of Us” as one of the film’s leads. What more do you really need to know?

Evidently, a bit more than that, because the first 10-15 minutes left me very confused.

The structure in “Freaky Tales” consists of four different stories, and in time, it is revealed that each story is connected through their interactions as well as through a magical green light that allows the characters to perform in ways that they may not have otherwise been able to. These four chapters are easily distinguished by their fun titles. From first through fourth, they are “Strength in Numbers: The Gilman Strikes Back,” “Don't Fight the Feeling,” “Born to Mack” and “The Legend of Sleepy Floyd.”

The film opens up with a narration from an unknown voice, informing the audience that we are travelling back in time to Oakland, California, circa 1987. From here, we jump into the world of punk-rock bands, organized crime, Nazi skinheads and weird psychic abilities.

The first story focuses on two teens, Lucid (Jack Champion) and Tina (Ji-young Yoo), who frequent a local punk club. The main aspect that draws people here — aside from the music — is the club’s no tolerance of racism, sexism or homophobia.

However, with this outlet for expression comes those who want to tear it down. This comes in the form of a group of Nazi skinheads, who break into the club in an attempt to destroy the space, leading to a cartoonishly-violent fight scene.

Chapter two starts with two girls, Entice (Normani) and Barbie (Dominique Thorne), outside of the local movie theater, which is frequently shown throughout the film. While there, the duo meets a man who is familiar with their rap career. After some small talk, the fellow moviegoer invites them to perform with the rapper Too Short at his club.

Fun fact: Too Short is a real rapper who appears in a cameo later in the movie. His song, “Freaky Tales,” was a major inspiration for directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, as Fleck grew up with his music while living in Oakland as a kid.

By the halfway point, we have finally made it to the story that I have been waiting to see: Pascal’s.

In this movie, Pascal’s character, Clint, is a retired hitman trying to leave his life of crime in the past because his wife is pregnant. However, as he tries to separate himself from criminal activity, people from his past manage to infiltrate his new world.

At one point in this segment, Pascal enters a video story, which just so happens to be run by Tom Hanks. Hanks’ dry humor in this scene was perfectly executed and truly made me laugh out loud.

Lastly, the fourth chapter tells us the “Legend of Sleepy Floyd.” This part of the film incorporates real-life events into the story’s otherwise fictional world as we get a look at the Golden State Warriors’ player, Sleepy Floyd, as he plays a record-setting game. While he plays, other members of the previously mentioned Nazi gang break into Floyd’s house, which eventually leads to the murder of the basketball player’s girlfriend.

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As a result of his girlfriend’s death, Floyd seeks revenge on the Nazi gang and uses mind powers to do so.

In all honesty, this movie is exactly what it claims to be — about freaky tales. Many scenes in this film are so ridiculous that you have to stop and wonder whether or not the whole thing was a fever dream. However, I believe that was a conscious decision made by the directors. I mean, there is a reason why every fight scene includes so much blood, and yet, somehow, these people still live. These scenes convey to the audience that you shouldn’t take any of this too seriously.

However, I do have a couple of issues.

As previously mentioned, there are many scenes where flashes of green lightning or a green glow appear out of nowhere. Alas, this is about as much information as we get on the whole ordeal. It made the world feel underdeveloped.

Additionally, as is the case with all anthology stories, there is always one that does not feel as fleshed out or important as the others. “Freaky Tales” is no exception. Chapter two, while a great story, feels very out of place within this story. Nothing connects them to the other characters other than an uncomfortable run-in with the leader of the Nazi gang. It felt like the directors only included this scene to show that they were drawing inspiration from Too Short.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a fun time watching the movie. It was clever, hilarious and it perfectly invoked the nostalgic feel of the ’80s. However, the underdevelopment really takes away from the underlying messages. Instead of thinking about what the directors were trying to say, I was wondering why there was green lightning every time someone went outside.

Rating 6/10

pedenae@miamioh.edu