Freakshow (1995) User Reviews

Uneven horror anthology.

[capkronos · 4/10 · 18 February 2000]

I found this for 4 bucks at a Pharmor when visiting some friends up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. At the time I pondered two things. 1.) How do cheap, made-for-video horror films end up in a pharmacy? 2.) Would the movie be worth my four bucks? Since that's about the price of a rental, and since I'm an avid fan of horror films and would probably rent it anyway, I figured "Why not?" I also noted that Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface from the original Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE) and former Hammer starlet Veronica Carlson starred.

I suppose it was worth four bucks, but this is uneven, and at it's worst, flat-out unwatchable. The worst story (the first) is about a woman (Jennifer Peluso) who gets revenge (using witchcraft) after a cocky jerk drives her pregnant sister to suicide. The last tale is equally lame, about a man who trades bodies with a grotesquely deformed carnival freak for ten thousand bucks (!?!?!?!). Thankfully the middle segments are more successful, including a terrific tale about the ghost of a mummy wreaking havoc at a Halloween party via 1890. This is where Carlson comes in, and she gives a refined, strong performance as the bitter Grace Harmsworth. In worthless linking segments, Gunnar Hansen is around trying to scare a teen couple with the aforementioned tales. He just isn't as menacing without his Leatherface mask on.

Terrible

[pumaye · 3/10 · 29 February 2004]

I got this anthology after a very long research, but it wasn't definitely worth my time and money. Four really poor horror tales (but they couldn't frighten a nun)are linked by Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface in the original Tobe Hooper masterpiece)as the Freakmaster, the owner of a freakshow carnival trying to convince his audience (a couple of teenagers) that his goods are real and not fake. Veronica Carlson, old but still attractive Hammer icon, is really wasted in a such a terrible way to pass one hour and an half. It is better to rent some old Amicus anthology or even watch Tales from Crypt if you want to have some fun from short horror stories.

One of the BEST lower budget horror movies of the 90's!

[banazap · 20 July 2017]

I first saw this movie in the mid 90's right after it released to movie rental stores. I would always rent this and eventually buy it.

This movie proves you don't need a $100 million budget to make a excellent movie. VERY original stories and presentation. Teens go to a carnival and hear stories from the "Freak Master" in the freak show attraction. The movie is split up into different stories told by the freak master.

The baby with the teeth is really scary, you will know what i mean...hehe. Lyman the unspeakable is my favorite story in this movie.

Don't Step Right Up

[NoDakTatum · 2/10 · 5 November 2023]

A wooden Gunnar Hansen is a freakshow operator who gives a final show for an arrogant teen and his new girlfriend. Hansen trots out his "exhibits," and tells the tale behind each of them, as we are treated to one of the worst horror anthology films of all time. The first story involves a self-involved man who dumps his girlfriend. He brings over some money for her to terminate the pregnancy- and meets her evil witch sister who is not very happy with the dude. The second story has a young boy being adopted by some backwoods types who are not who they seem. The third story takes place in the 1800's, and involves a mummy who is the prized possession of the local eccentric scientist. It is Halloween, and the eccentric scientist brings the mummy to a party to unveil it. The fourth story is about an ugly carnival freak who pays a grocery delivery guy $10,000 to change bodies with him through black magic. The hideous but now-rich guy goes on a spending spree, but will regret his decision. By now, the arrogant teen has been duly unimpressed by the stories and freaks. Same with this reviewer. He's unaware that he and his girlfriend are the finale of the film.

When a horror anthology works on film, like "Tales from the Hood," it can be wonderful. When it fails, it can be a chore to sit through. Each of the stories here run about ten minutes over. This thing is over an hour and forty five minutes, and it seems twice as long. There is no suspense, and there are better special effects on a 3-D Viewmaster disc. The actors here are what you might consider "local" as everyone either over-emotes, or delivers their lines as if seeing them for the first time. I swear in some scenes Hansen was reading his neverending speeches off of cue cards. There is a cheap air to this that starts with the opening scene and never lets up. Sure, you can be brave and try to sit through this, but consider yourselves warned. "Freakshow" is just that and worse.

It wasn't THAT bad...

[jeanie_821 · 7/10 · 8 July 2004]

I wound up watching this film after one of the most horrible days at the office I'd ever had, reasoning that nothing could scare me after that. Guess what - it did. And I'm not an easy scare.

A cynical teenage boy takes a girl he's just met into a carny sideshow, much like the ones I and many others visited at traveling carnivals when we were kids. (Remember Lobster Boy? The Half-Girl? The Bearded Woman?) However, the exhibits in this sideshow are more horrifying than the ones we saw as children, and the stories behind them are chilling. Of course, we wonder what it will take to impress the cynic... and whether we were right in convincing ourselves that the sideshow exhibits were fake.