Director Steven Kostanski of Psycho Goreman infamy returns with an equally deranged Frankie Freako playing at Fantastic Fest 2024!
Frankie Freako isn’t the loving homage to Gremlins you think it is. In fact, writer/director Steven Kostanski doesn’t get close to the Joe Dante classic. That’s the point. Kostanski’s Frankie Freako is a loving homage to the Gremlins clones. Yes, you know the ones. Ghoulies, Troll, Ghoulies 2, Trolls 2, Puppet Master … basically anything that Charles Band produced with cute little monsters wreaking havoc in a small town. Like his previous film, Kostanski’s references and homages are more adroit than you can possibly imagine. The result is a film that feels as though it was made in the 1980s rather than steeped in the decade.
Conor (Conor Sweeney) your run-of-the-mill yuppie circa 1985 is having a mid-life crisis. Work isn’t rad. Interest in his hot-hot-hot wife Kristina (Kristy Wordsworth) is no longer there. Conor isn’t living the dream he thought he would. After a particularly hard day at work, Conor either in a lucid dream or mental break sees an ad for a party line. Not just any party line but one for Frankie Freako that promises a party you cannot believe. Conor gets more than he bargained for as Frankie and his friends come to party and more much to the terror of Conor putting his life into peril in more ways than one.
Frankie Freako is a deep dive into the weirdness of the 1980s that keeps one on their toes the entire 85-minute runtime. The film is not an affectionate tale regurgitated from the era it’s being told. Kostanski is too adroit of a storyteller for that. Like Burton or even Lynch before him, the writer/director gives us a narrative that delights and revels in genre as much as it surprises with how the entire movie is constructed. References vary from Risky Business, Zardoz, Flash Gordon, Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom, and so much more (including a huge dollop of late-night cable sexual thrillers). Much of the joy that is derived from watching Frankie Freako is in just how big and smart it gets in its final third act. Though to discuss anymore would be to ruin the truly wonderful finale that Kostanski and his crew of artists have concocted.
Frankie Freako confirms what Psycho Goreman signified… Steven Kostanski is a mad scientist of a writer/director whose unique take on genre only hints at what is in store for audiences for years and movies to come.
Frankie Freako played Fantastic Fest 2024 on September 22nd and plays again on September 26th – also in theaters from Shout Studios October 4th
Director Steven Kostanski of Psycho Goreman infamy returns with an equally deranged Frankie Freako playing at Fantastic Fest 2024!
Frankie Freako isn’t the loving homage to Gremlins you think it is. In fact, writer/director Steven Kostanski doesn’t get close to the Joe Dante classic. That’s the point. Kostanski’s Frankie Freako is a loving homage to the Gremlins clones. Yes, you know the ones. Ghoulies, Troll, Ghoulies 2, Trolls 2, Puppet Master … basically anything that Charles Band produced with cute little monsters wreaking havoc in a small town. Like his previous film, Kostanski’s references and homages are more adroit than you can possibly imagine. The result is a film that feels as though it was made in the 1980s rather than steeped in the decade.
Conor (Conor Sweeney) your run-of-the-mill yuppie circa 1985 is having a mid-life crisis. Work isn’t rad. Interest in his hot-hot-hot wife Kristina (Kristy Wordsworth) is no longer there. Conor isn’t living the dream he thought he would. After a particularly hard day at work, Conor either in a lucid dream or mental break sees an ad for a party line. Not just any party line but one for Frankie Freako that promises a party you cannot believe. Conor gets more than he bargained for as Frankie and his friends come to party and more much to the terror of Conor putting his life into peril in more ways than one.
Frankie Freako is a deep dive into the weirdness of the 1980s that keeps one on their toes the entire 85-minute runtime. The film is not an affectionate tale regurgitated from the era it’s being told. Kostanski is too adroit of a storyteller for that. Like Burton or even Lynch before him, the writer/director gives us a narrative that delights and revels in genre as much as it surprises with how the entire movie is constructed. References vary from Risky Business, Zardoz, Flash Gordon, Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom, and so much more (including a huge dollop of late-night cable sexual thrillers). Much of the joy that is derived from watching Frankie Freako is in just how big and smart it gets in its final third act. Though to discuss anymore would be to ruin the truly wonderful finale that Kostanski and his crew of artists have concocted.
Frankie Freako confirms what Psycho Goreman signified… Steven Kostanski is a mad scientist of a writer/director whose unique take on genre only hints at what is in store for audiences for years and movies to come.
Frankie Freako played Fantastic Fest 2024 on September 22nd and plays again on September 26th – also in theaters from Shout Studios October 4th
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