My Cultural Diet

In this series of stories set in Oakland circa 1987, a group of punks battle Nazi skinheads, a rap duo gets the big break of their dreams, a thug with nothing left to lose gets one last opportunity, and an NBA all-star swears revenge on those who’ve wronged him. Unfortunately, Freaky Tales is less than the sum of its parts. Which is a shame because Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s film has “potential cult classic” written all over it. With its mix of ’80s style and grindhouse inspiration, the film’s heart is certainly in the right place and its cast (which includes Pedro Pascal, Jay Ellis, Ben Mendelsohn, and Tom Hanks in a glorified cameo) does the best they can. Nothing, however, really gels together and the stories feel strangely disconnected despite the obvious overlaps. Most disappointing of all, Freaky Tales just isn’t very freaky. Sure, there’s some stuff in there about a mysterious force guiding the stories and frequent mention of a bizarre New Age-ish religion, but it’s all little more than window dressing. In the end, I was left wanting more from each one of the individual stories as well as the film as a whole.

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