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mel_animaster
Reviews
Where Did I Come From? (1985)
So...freakin...funny...
Good LORD, this is awesome! I mean, it's totally stupid, but it's SO worth seeing, only because it's SO horribly disturbing and dumb. I mean, the cats explaining orgasm, that...er..."talented" rubber ducky (at my friends' high school, this movie has become INFAMOUS, and is widely known as the duck movie...just how WOULD this duck make its living???) This was a brilliantly horrid film. It's perfect! This method of explaining sex would TOTALLY screw kids up. It's marvelous! If you're a perverted teenager with a sick sense of humor wanting a film for to show for a gathering of friends in a basement (especially if you and yours love giving snide or naughty comments) you MUST SEE THIS!!! BWAH HA HA HA HAAAAAAAA!
Freaks (1932)
But for the accident of birth...
This is simply one of the most incredable films of the 1930's. It is definately the creative climax of Tod Browning's carreer, dispite being overshadowed by Dracula, not to mention the film's own infamy. It's sad, really. This is regarded as a disturbing, disgusting THING, much like the deformed individuals it was desperately trying not to portray in such a manner. And, like those individuals, this film really has a lot more heart than it is often given credit for. The problem is, many people simply can't look past what they see. Yes, it is regarded as a great piece of exploitation horror, but the film, save for the climax, is really much more of an observational drama with undercurrents of suspense. If Browning's intention was, indeed, shock value, i think he went deeper than he intended to. However, I think we see a side of Browning's personal fears, as well as his being humbled by a lot of other things in his earlier life, comming into play. Notice how Browning's movies tend to deal with deformity. He worked with a circus early in life, and did a lot of wierd stunts dealing with death. In one of his activities, someone actually got killed. The things he had seen, as well as his own demons with alcohol, really come up a lot, particularily once the murder plot against Hans the midgit is set into motion and we begin to see how the "freaks" are really viewed by the beautiful trapeeze girl and her strongman lover, as well as some of the lesser members of the circus. (PLOT SPOILER AHEAD:) That incredible wedding scene ("One of Us!") where the drunken beautiful bride finally comes right out and screams "Filthy, Slimy FREAKS! FREAKS! FREAKS!" To almost complete silence after the chant from the sideshow crowd, reveals a deep sort of pain that transcends a lot of the other off-color ribbing and sniggering at the "freaks" through the earlier parts of the film. It is truly an incredable work. A Much better picture of human interaction and perception of differences than "I am Sam". Freaks is a movie everyone should see--just don't expect a mindless gory look at deformed monsters trying to kill people, and don't expect not to be moved. This is MUCH, so much more than a simple exploitation film.