The mad geniuses behind Psycho Goreman are back with the equally deranged and delightful Frankie Freako. New to Blu-ray from Scream Factory.
The Film
Frankie Freako isn’t the loving homage to Gremlins you think it is. In fact, writer/director Steven Kostanski does not even come 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 Sweeney (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.
Frankie Freako is an deep dive into weirdness that keeps one on their toes the entire 85-minute runtime. The film is not affectionate tale regurgitated in the era its 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 thriller).
Much of the joy in 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’s a mad scientist of a writer/director whose unique takes on genre only hint at what is in store for audiences for years and movies to come.
The Transfer
The digitally shot film looks crisp and sharp on Blu-Ray. The handsome image has no issues with handling anything the VFX-heavy film has to throw at it. One wonders how the film would look on 4K UHD as the Blu-ray pushes out the very limits.
The Extras
They include the following;
Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Steven Kostanski, Actor Conor Sweeney and Cinematographer Pierce Derks
“Fasten Your Freakbelts” – Behind The Scenes Of Frankie Freako
“Conor & Frankie: A Conversation Between Actors”
Frankie Freako’s Funtime Phone Commercial
Antique Connoisseurs Segments
Trailer
The Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Steven Kostanski, Actor Conor Sweeney and Cinematographer Pierce Derks begins with the origins of the idea back to Pandemic Days and Movie festivals and their watching of a series of 80s little creature features. Some of the other details include the 90s erotic thriller aesthetic they wanted for the visual style at the beginning; the fact Kostanski and Derks did over 500 VFX shots – the more complex shots were done by VFX shots; the challenges for Sweeney playing the lead on an FX heavy film and playing most of the film against nothing not even puppets; the costuming for Sweeney’s character inspired by Chandler from Friends and Danny Tanner from Full House; the camera package they were given and the challenges it faced – which leads to the budgetary constraints they had to deal with because of the esoteric nature of the project; the work they did to transition from the initial look of the 90s erotic thriller to the “Freako” world look; the puppetry and challenges – the changing of the foam latex to silicone and how heavy they made the puppets; the various voice talent that they got for the various creatures/puppets; how they achieved the insert shots technically and schedule-wise – additionally they had no 2nd unit; the trick to achieve puppets running or giving scale to the puppets; the influence of Straw Dogs on the film; a discussion how Sweeney became attached and that his character was named “Conor Sweeney”; how they achieved the cityscape shots of the Freak world; the inspiration of Freak World – Double Dragon, Super Mario Bros. 1993; Batman1989; a larger discussion of the various voice actors that played the various puppets in the film; and much more. This is a lively, entertaining, and informative commentary track.
“Fasten Your Freakbelts” – Behind The Scenes Of Frankie Freako (10:25) – hosted by Conor Sweeney who plays Conor Sweeny in the film, this very cheeky behind-the-scenes look at making Frankie Freako. Loaded with great b-roll footage, anyone who loved this film and wants a glimpse into how they created the puppets, world and FX behind this mini-masterpiece should definitely watch this. The only drawback, it isn’t a feature length behind the scenes look because the footage we do get is compelling and fascinating.
“Conor & Frankie: A Conversation Between Actors” (8:54) – another cheeky featurette where Conor Sweeney who plays Conor Sweeney interviews Frankie who plays Frankie Freako. This interview set in the Makeup FX shop is hilarious sendup of these types of features. The duo discusses finding their love of acting; Frankie’s time at Juliard; and more.
Frankie Freako’s Funtime Phone Commercial (0:47) – the commercial that appears in the film. The commercial appears unedited and in its original shot on video form and aspect ratio (1.33).
Antique Connoisseurs Segments (2:24) – the segment that briefly appear in the film. Here the entire “show” appears unedited and in its original shot on video form and aspect ratio (1.33).
Trailer (2:22)
The Final Thought
Frankie Freako is one of the unexpected surprises of 2024. Scream Factory has created a wonderful Blu-ray edition filled with special features. Highest Recommendations!
Scream Factory’s Blu-Ray edition of Frankie Freako is out November 5th
The mad geniuses behind Psycho Goreman are back with the equally deranged and delightful Frankie Freako. New to Blu-ray from Scream Factory.
The Film
Frankie Freako isn’t the loving homage to Gremlins you think it is. In fact, writer/director Steven Kostanski does not even come 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 Sweeney (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.
Frankie Freako is an deep dive into weirdness that keeps one on their toes the entire 85-minute runtime. The film is not affectionate tale regurgitated in the era its 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 thriller).
Much of the joy in 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’s a mad scientist of a writer/director whose unique takes on genre only hint at what is in store for audiences for years and movies to come.
The Transfer
The digitally shot film looks crisp and sharp on Blu-Ray. The handsome image has no issues with handling anything the VFX-heavy film has to throw at it. One wonders how the film would look on 4K UHD as the Blu-ray pushes out the very limits.
The Extras
They include the following;
The Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Steven Kostanski, Actor Conor Sweeney and Cinematographer Pierce Derks begins with the origins of the idea back to Pandemic Days and Movie festivals and their watching of a series of 80s little creature features. Some of the other details include the 90s erotic thriller aesthetic they wanted for the visual style at the beginning; the fact Kostanski and Derks did over 500 VFX shots – the more complex shots were done by VFX shots; the challenges for Sweeney playing the lead on an FX heavy film and playing most of the film against nothing not even puppets; the costuming for Sweeney’s character inspired by Chandler from Friends and Danny Tanner from Full House; the camera package they were given and the challenges it faced – which leads to the budgetary constraints they had to deal with because of the esoteric nature of the project; the work they did to transition from the initial look of the 90s erotic thriller to the “Freako” world look; the puppetry and challenges – the changing of the foam latex to silicone and how heavy they made the puppets; the various voice talent that they got for the various creatures/puppets; how they achieved the insert shots technically and schedule-wise – additionally they had no 2nd unit; the trick to achieve puppets running or giving scale to the puppets; the influence of Straw Dogs on the film; a discussion how Sweeney became attached and that his character was named “Conor Sweeney”; how they achieved the cityscape shots of the Freak world; the inspiration of Freak World – Double Dragon, Super Mario Bros. 1993; Batman1989; a larger discussion of the various voice actors that played the various puppets in the film; and much more. This is a lively, entertaining, and informative commentary track.
“Fasten Your Freakbelts” – Behind The Scenes Of Frankie Freako (10:25) – hosted by Conor Sweeney who plays Conor Sweeny in the film, this very cheeky behind-the-scenes look at making Frankie Freako. Loaded with great b-roll footage, anyone who loved this film and wants a glimpse into how they created the puppets, world and FX behind this mini-masterpiece should definitely watch this. The only drawback, it isn’t a feature length behind the scenes look because the footage we do get is compelling and fascinating.
“Conor & Frankie: A Conversation Between Actors” (8:54) – another cheeky featurette where Conor Sweeney who plays Conor Sweeney interviews Frankie who plays Frankie Freako. This interview set in the Makeup FX shop is hilarious sendup of these types of features. The duo discusses finding their love of acting; Frankie’s time at Juliard; and more.
Frankie Freako’s Funtime Phone Commercial (0:47) – the commercial that appears in the film. The commercial appears unedited and in its original shot on video form and aspect ratio (1.33).
Antique Connoisseurs Segments (2:24) – the segment that briefly appear in the film. Here the entire “show” appears unedited and in its original shot on video form and aspect ratio (1.33).
Trailer (2:22)
The Final Thought
Frankie Freako is one of the unexpected surprises of 2024. Scream Factory has created a wonderful Blu-ray edition filled with special features. Highest Recommendations!
Scream Factory’s Blu-Ray edition of Frankie Freako is out November 5th
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