Actor Alex Winter is best known for his work in The Lost
Boys (1987) and the two Bill & Ted films so most people don’t realized that
he’s also a writer and director. After writing
and directing several short films he and Tom Stern co-directed the oddity
Freaked (1993). Winter stars as Ricky
Coogan, a famous child actor down on his luck who is now prompted to be the
spokesperson for a toxic waste company in South America. With his most trusted friend Ernie (Michael
Stoyanov) and activist Julie (Megan Ward), Ricky finds himself at the laboratory
of Elijah Skuggs (Randy Quaid) who has been using the toxic waste to create and
experiment on people whom unwillingly show up at his property. Ricky, Ernie, and Julie soon find themselves
Skuggs next freaks in his crazy menagerie of toxic created monstrosities that
are kept in a barn out of public view.
Refusing to bow down to Skuggs rules and live the remainder
of his life as a victim of Skuggs’ cruel experiments, Ricky hatches a plan to
get all of his fellow freaks together to return them to normal and escape from
Skuggs’ laboratory.
Winter also writes with Stren and Tim Burns this odd comedy
that’s similar in tone to his Bill & Ted films. The film was ignored upon initial release but
has garnered a huge cult following due to the unusual story and eccentric cast
of characters played by such names as Mr. T, Bobcat Goldthwait, Brook Shields,
and William Sadler, to name a few. The
makeup effects are quite good for the time although heavy stylized for the this
type of film.
Freaked is not a film for everyone as it is a product of its
time with commentary on toxic waste usage and teen stardom but for people who
love The Toxic Avenger this film is right up your alley.
