There was a time, before excessive CGI, that movies looked like Freaked. I strongly believe that CGI is destroying much more creativity than it is creating, and therefore, I find myself longing for simpler days when puppetry and stop-motion ruled the special-effects movie world. These tools may not have been as versatile as computer effects, but they were tangible, dammit. Solid, and fun, and at times, unabashedly gross. Filmmakers accepted the fact that their effects didn't look realistic, and it gave them the freedom to make creatures that were over-the-top and silly. CGI effects want to be “real,” so (in most cases) they stifle the creativity of film crews, and create stale, stagnant movies. There are many things that I hate about modern cinema, but above all is the (almost) total lack of creativity.

So we go back to 1993, in the very last stages of puppet-based creature effects, to a time where Alex Winter can get financing to make a movie primarily because he was in the Bill and Ted (‘s)” movies. Don't get me wrong, Winter could be a very talented director. He directed a music video for a “Foetus” song called “Verklemmt,” and is probably the only person to date that has been able to accurately visually convey the energy of Thirwell's music. But at the time of Freaked, I'm guessing the studios were probably more swayed by the idea of having “Bill” in a movie. And that's great.

So here we are in 1993, and out comes Freaked to local theatres, and people don't know how to respond. Winter's film is one of mania. He throws jokes at you perpetually, gets his team to create outrageous make-up effects, and for eighty minutes, you're either completely annoyed, or you have a good time.

Freaked is not a work of brilliance. It's hardly a work of adequacy. But it's ambitious, and fun, and makes me nostalgic for a simpler time of movie-going that included films like Garbage Pail Kids, and Super Mario Brothers. These movies were enjoyable (for me), not because they were good, but because they were weird, and disgusting, and vibrated with a unique feeling all to themselves. Freaked could never be made in today's world, and the world is all the more empty for it. Now we have to suffer through garbage like Garfield that exists in disdain of cynicism, sarcasm, and most importantly, the “weird.” It may not be valid, but I treasure movies like Freaked. We'll never see anything like them again.