Freaks – Sie sehen aus wie wir (2018)

Freaks – Sie sehen aus wie wir: Directed by Zach Lipovsky, Adam B. Stein. With Emile Hirsch, Bruce Dern, Grace Park, Amanda Crew. A bold girl discovers a bizarre, threatening, and mysterious new world beyond her front door after she escapes her father’s protective and paranoid control.

“Freaks starts out (or so you think) as a film which promises to deliver some uncomfortable moments between an overprotective dad who may or may not be outright crazy as well as possibly dangerous, and his cute, socially-inexperienced, defenseless and mostly awkward little girl. If you know nothing about the film going in, like we did not, upon viewing the first few scenes, naturally, your mind canu0026#39;t help but run to all kinds of dark places, wondering where the filmmaker is going to take us.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWell, where it goes, although the ride hits a couple of small bumps, are dark and eerie places touching on the horror genre, and then surprisingly, it pulls back and takes an unexpected left turn into something completely different.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMuch of the supporting cast is okay, but the real revelation is the outstanding performance by Lexy Kolker as the little girl, and just slightly less-so, although still great, her dad, played by Emile Hirsch. They pretty much carry the film. Bruce Dern also delivers, if not a riveting performance, at least a mentionable and memorable one. His role in their lives unravels slowly and is not completely understood until somewhere in the middle of the film. It takes a while to discern what his purpose truly is and for the viewer to see the entire picture. I enjoyed that.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI also liked that the film lets the viewer decide for themselves if what theyu0026#39;ve witnessed is abuse, trauma, or something else entirely. I also like that while I believe the characters are used as a stand-in or metaphor for discrimination, it isnu0026#39;t anything that is heavy-handed or overtly pushed.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll in all, I found Freaks to be entertaining, and that its concept had been well-executed and delivered. The journey, despite the twists and turns, was captivating, and the destination was 99% equally pleasing and enjoyable, if not 100% where I had expected to go.”