Freak Out (2004)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Christian James

Writers:

Christian James (writer)
Dan Palmer (writer)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

It's Cheap 'n Nasty!

Plot:

Two best friends, Merv Doody (James Heathcote) and Onkey (Dan Palmer), take a hapless escaped mental patient under their wing and attempt to teach him how to become a real serial killer.

Plot Keywords:

Reference To Frankenstein | Screwball | Slacker | Generation X | Tongue In Cheek

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

James Heathcote	...	Merv Doody
Dan Palmer	...	Onkey
Nicola Connell	...	Abby
Yazz Fetto	...	Looney / Sheriff Craven
Desmond Cullum-Jones	...	Old Man Wilson
James King	...	Merv's Boss
Tony Rogers	...	Chip McCready
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Fallon	...	Looney Doll (voice)
Abby Forknall	...	Chip's Bitch #2
Gemma Forknall	...	Chip's Bitch #1
Chili Gold	...	Cherry
James Hicks	...	Jeremiah Gibble
Louise Hughes	...	Sexy Nurse
Less Than Jake	...	As Themselves
Jennifer Litsch	...	Scream Queen (as Jane Scarlett)
Chris Rhodes	...	Doyle DelFurie
Richard Scott	...	Spatula Victim
Peter Stanley-Ward	...	Inkey
Simon Stanley-Ward	...	Hagfan
Chris R. Wright	...	Smoking Hagfan

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bournemouth, Dorset, England, UK

Company:

Atlantic Enterprises (Poole)

Trivia:

Jeff Dylan Graham was originally cast in a cameo role, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.

Quotes:

Merv Doody: Who knows? Maybe I'm looking at the next Freddy, the new Jason!
Looney: Freddie Mercury and Jason Priestley? I love those guys!

Movie Connections:

References Ghost Busters (1984)

Soundtrack:

Rather Be Dreaming

The best film about a camp vegetarian serial killer ever!

I went along to a preview screening of Freak Out not really sure what to expect. I didn't have any clue what the film was about, and hadn't heard of any of the cast or crew, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was a low budget British comedy slasher film. The basic plot is after capturing the person who tried to murder him, Merv Doody decides with the help of his friend Onkey to train him up to become the new Freddy Kreugar. The film clearly owes a debt to the Scream franchise, only while not as clever or as scary as the Scream movies it is much more funny.

At a £30,000 budget you get a lot of what you expect (and probably also want). Unknown actors, shaky camera work, immature (yet very funny humour) and gloriously enjoyable low budget death scenes. However you also get a lot of things you would not expect, such as a quality soundtrack, professional editing and cameos from Less Than Jake. While it's not in the league of the low budget modern classics of Clerks and The Blair Witch Project, it certainly deserves to gain a cult following once released on video. After all, how many films feature a camp vegetarian as their main villain?