Freaked (DVD)

I was OBSESSED with this movie when I was a kid!

Like Savini's Night of the Living Dead, I saw this film on one of those wonderful weekends of free HBO and/or Showtime. After that initial viewing, this movie remained elusive to me; no copies at the video store and it never seemed to show up on basic cable.

After decades of searching for Freaked, I had settled on the idea that I would never own this DVD until two years ago, when a family in our town donated their beloved patriarch's entire DVD collection to our public library! Many movies were entered into our catalog but the rest went up for sale. This father had an impeccably varied taste in film but, imagine my surprise, that in this entire collection, a pristine copy of Freaked was shelved unassumingly in the F's! It was like finding a long lost friend and I have no plan on parting with this movie ever. I just might have to be buried with it!

So, the story goes, Ricky Coogin (Alex Winter)(A spoiled former child star) agrees to promote a controversial fertilizer called Zygrot 24 and is flown to South America for its promotion. While driving to his destination, he and two companions stumble upon a freak show attraction run by a sketchy character named Elijah C. Skuggs (Rabdy Quaid). Then, chaos ensues.

Shout out to the national treasure (as well as beloved Native Hawaiian treasure) Keanu Reeves for supporting his pal Alex Winter (actor, writer, director of this movie) by playing the role of, Ortiz the Dog Boy!