Films for Breakfast

Anthology films are a bit tricky to pull off, as they can vary drastically in quality and are hard to work in a singular format – I often find that they work better on television. However, when done right, they can deliver something special – the V/H/S franchise has proven this time and time again with each sequel it delivers, and how could one forget Pulp Fiction? Widely regarded one of the best films of all-time, it trusts in its audience to follow along from seemingly separate stories before knowing how they connect. I’m not here to say Freaky Tales is that similar to Pulp Fiction aside from its anthology narrative nor am I saying it’s as good, but it’s sure nice to see a film with this cast swing for the fences as much as it does.

Set in and around Oakland, California in 1987, the film weaves together four interconnected stories – some loosely, some more close than you’d expect. From epic rap battles to a robbery at an NBA legend’s home to a brawl between white supremacists and a punk-rock scene; these stories interconnect with corrupt cops, reformed bad guys, video store clerks, and everyone in-between. While I might have a rough ranking of the segments, the part I enjoyed the most of Freaky Tales is how fluidly they blend together for one larger story; largely not varying in quality.

An anthology story is usually only as good as the cast accompanying it, and Freaky Tales largely succeeds in this regard with a completely stacked and talented one. While notable actors like Pedro Pascal and Ben Mendehlson turn in really solid performances here and add a lot of weight to the storylines, I was really impressed by the younger cast. Jack Champion and Ji-young Yoo were two of my personal favorites of the cast, as their segment presented a lot of fun and an incredibly cute romance. Dominique Thorne and Normani also deliver fun performances, despite their segment feeling a bit more brief than the other three. However, I found Jay Ellis’ performance and segment to be the true shining star of the film; he leads with excellent charisma and is front and center in the film’s best action sequence.

Writing and directing duo Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden bring a solid amount of style and flair to the film, creating something that feels entirely thematically unique and visually interesting in equal measure. Each story flows into the next pretty fluidly, yet they each have their own flavor and style that make them stand apart from one-another. By the end, this paints a pretty diverse and entertaining film that hits on multiple angles.

My only real gripe with Freaky Tales is that underneath the fun performances, stylish direction, and solid humor and action, the film struggles to convey the deeper themes it is seemingly going for. While I don’t think it necessarily fumbles the bag in this arena, it feels like these ideas are a bit half-baked in comparisson to how well-realized the rest of the film is. Nonethless, this doesn’t negate from the fact that when Freaky Tales hits, it’s a super entertaining ride and incredibly audacious in presentation and craft.