“Have a freaky weekend!”
Look, this throwback indie film has all the right creature-feature feels - especially if you are a product of repeated Charles Band and Pee Wee Herman-types of late-night entertainment, which I am. Personally, I want to thank Astron-6 alumnus Steven Kostanski for putting this flick together; it reeks of everything that was so right with the cinematic world of my youth: Critters, Puppet Master, Ghoulies, and Drop Dead Fred. They are all represented here as a televised commercial for a 1-900 party hotline hosted by a puppet-sized nose-picking goblin named Frankie Freako promises to turn social squares into the coolest young dudes in the room.
Yes, you read that correctly. Frankie Freako hits the non-stop bizarre button about 10-minutes in and never stops as all sorts of Troma-like fun is thrown at the screen in this demented slice of cheese.
These little pint-sized party freaks - a cowgirl named Dottie (Meredith Sweeney), a dork who does machines named Boink (Adam Brooks), and, of course, the main creeper Frankie Freako (Matthew Kennedy) - are definitely an unexpected handful of self-aware puppets (it’s part of the joke here) and complicate our lead’s life in some wonderfully wacky ways.
The Freako’s are everywhere and deliver all sorts of manic mischief to their host’s home. You see, Connor (Conor Sweeney) is definitely stuck in a rut. His wife is bored of his bedroom hand-holding (yes, that’s the extent of his lovemaking), his boss is bored with his presentations and really wants him to do some shredding over the weekend, and things are pretty much supremely stagnant until he finds himself using the Connor countdown after calling the 1-900 number and doing battle with pint-sized forces of evil.
Frankie Freako, from Lightblub Film Distribution, is wonderfully bizarre and manages to rehash all the fun of the films it is drawing inspiration from, which include Gremlins. And it is thanks to its writer and director Kotanski (Psycho Goreman, The Void), who keeps the tone lighthearted and fun as these puppets of partydom wreck lives. The film stars Conor Sweeney (Psycho Goreman), Adam Brooks (Dark Harvest) and Kristy Wordsworth (States of Mind) and features YouTuber Rich Evans (RedLetterMedia) as the voice of Frankie’s nemesis, President Munch.
Lightbulb Film Distribution is pleased to announce that Frankie Freako will be released in the UK & Ireland from July 14.
Bust out of your boredom box!
MPAA Rating: PG-13.
Runtime: 119 mins
Director: Steven Kostanski
Writer: Steven Kostanski
Cast: Conor Sweeney; Adam Brooks; Kristy Wordsworth
Genre: Comedy | Horror
Tagline: It's time to Get Freako
Memorable Movie Quote: "You look like a movie star."
Distributor: Lightbulb Film Distribution
Official Site:
Release Date: UK & Ireland from July 14
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: Workaholic yuppie Conor is in an existential rut until one night he catches a bizarre ad for a party hotline hosted by a strange dancing goblin: Frankie Freako. Could this be just the recipe to spice up his boring life?
