Freaky Tales (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – Four interconnected stories set in 1987 Oakland, CA. will tell about the love of music, movies, people, places and memories beyond our knowable universe.

My Take – Having hit it big with the billion dollar grossing MCU behemoth, Captain Marvel (2019), for their next, co-writers and co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck switch gears to present a stylish trip through retro madness, weaving together a diverse cast of characters.

Told through four interconnected stories set in 80s Oakland, an American city crackling with real history and raw energy, their film stitches together genres like martial arts, horror, comedy, revenge thriller, and a dash of neon-lit nostalgia, all while channeling the spirit of underground zines and VHS-era attitude.

Though the overall outcome isn’t cohesive enough, resulting in a final product that isn’t as good as it thinks it is. But, it’s still fun, inventive and just silly enough (especially considering how it throws in a Tom Hanks cameo as a video-shop owner who hosts shady backroom poker games) experience.

Obviously inspired by Pulp Fiction (1994), it faces problems like most anthologies: some stories work and some don’t. Yet, it simply has a vibe that keeps you glued in. Particularly due to the good use of humor and action sequences throughout these different segments. And while the plot does sprawl and sometimes feel disjointed, it makes up for it with sheer creative momentum.

With the filmmakers showcasing their love for the era with affection and satire, never losing sight of the film’s central theme: the power of resistance through culture. Working best as background noise through its rocky start, wild ending and a whole lot of Pedro Pascal.

Presented in a 4:3 aspect ratio and set in 1987 Oakland, California, the story follows a host of characters spread across four interconnected stories and at time narrated by rapper Too Short. The first chapter, “Strength in Numbers: The Gilman Strikes Back” follows young punk rock fans, Tina (Ji-young Yoo) and Lucid (Jack Champion), who upon exiting the Grand Lake Theater head to the Gilman for some live music. There is an unrequited love connection between the two friends as the jam, but things soon turn violent when a group of neo-Nazis show up.

The second chapter, “Don’t Fight the Feeling” follows Barbie (Dominique Thorne) and Entice (Normani), who work in an ice-cream parlor and operate together as a budding rap duo called Danger Zone. Though their visibly shaken by the sexual harassment carried out by a policeman (Ben Mendelsohn), the highlight of their life comes with the invitation to perform alongside Too Short.

The third chapter, “Born to Mack” follows Clint (Pedro Pascal), a collections muscle who is on the last day of his job. Leaving his criminal life behind to be with his pregnant wife. But as soon as he exits the video store following an interaction with Hank (Tom Hanks), the store manager, tragedy strikes.

The fourth chapter, “The Legend of Sleepy Floyd” follows Sleepy Floyd (Jay Ellis), a professional basketball player, whose celebration of his record-setting game with the Golden State Warriors comes to abrupt end when he reaches home to find it robbed, his family attacked and girlfriend murdered at the hands of a neo-Nazi gang. Determined to seek his vengeance, Floyd suits up, heads to their address and begins a mystical rampage.

Honestly, there is nothing really freaky about these tales, except for the Psytopics, some cosmic green mystical power which characters tend to get possessed by at important portions in the narrative. Right from the opening voice-over, it’s clear that co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck aim to turn their feature into a cult midnight flick. And on that front it largely succeeds, boasting a scrappy energy, outsider outlook, and local focus that feels like a sharp pivot from the slick universe-expansion of their previous film.

However, the first two stories are far too simple. The slow motion and blood splatter with an adrenaline-fused song banging in the background brings on an exciting experience, after all who doesn’t like to see a good-old fashion Nazi beat down?.

But they feel more like wish-fulfillment fantasies with a sprinkling of surreal atmospheric touches. All I came away with was that young punk rock fans actually can defeat a Nazi gang in combat and two budding young rappers can overcome misogyny to win a rap battle. I’m sure that some will find these tales entertaining, but I found myself disconnected from them emotionally and actually bored.

Also, for some reason, directors Boden and Fleck decide to switch up their style to tell the individual stories. Even aspect ratios and action sequences vary among the chapters.

Luckily in chapters three and four, there’s better consistency and cohesion as the storytelling ramps up and find its footing. The third tale brings a low-key Tarantino vibe with Pedro Pascal bringing his usual charisma and depth with a performance that the first two tales sorely lacked. This story was also the first to be laced with darkness, tragedy, and moral reckoning. Clint’s grappling with his past misdeeds was riveting as were the scenes where he burns all his bridges because he feels he has nothing left to lose. The surprise cameo in this tale also really hits the spot.

And while the fourth and final tale in which real-life basketball star Sleepy Floyd takes violent revenge on intruders seeking to swipe his Asian fine-art collection doesn’t have any significant character development. It had the strongest style of the bunch, which were all exercises in style, and had some creative kills and gore.

The action sequences are pulpy and kinetic, and the bloodshed playful yet impactful. Underneath the madness, there’s a surprising sincerity to the film. It’s a tribute to misfits, to real subcultures, to the video rental shops and late-night B-films that shaped a generation.

It helps that committed cast alleviate the pains of stylistic switch-ups. Pedro Pascal and Ben Mendelsohn are excellent as always, while Jay Ellis, Jack Champion, Dominique Thorne, Normani, Ji-young Yoo, Keir Gilchrist and the late Angus Cloud are effective in their roles. Plus, there’s the added bonus of Tom Hanks clearly having the time of his life as a know-it-all clerk at a video rental store. On the whole, ‘Freaky Tales‘ is a fun yet uneven anthology which despite never amounting to more than the sum of its parts manages to drip in retro-cool high-energy and entertainment.