Netflix viewers are all saying the same thing about a ‘forgotten’ science fiction thriller which features a pretty 'emotional' and ‘dark’ ending.
Sci-fi and fantasy fans had a field day when it came to movie releases in 2019.
The year signalled Marvel’s cinematic outputs Avengers: Endgame and Captain Marvel, as well as Disney's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Far From Home.
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Though a movie offering that went pretty much under the radar in 2019 was a sci-fi thriller that some viewers have dubbed a ‘gritty X-Men origin film’.
The movie in question had its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2018 before grossing $350,112 [£276,339] at the US and Canadian box office a year later.
This low-budget project is currently available to watch on Netflix and stars Emile Hirsch as time manipulator Henry Lewis.
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Battlestar Galactica’s Grace Park also appears in the movie alongside youngster Lexy Kolker, who portrays telepath Chloe Lewis.
If your interest is already piqued, then you can check out the trailer for the film Freaks below:
There’s spoilers ahead for Freaks, so be warned!
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Freaks, directed by Adam Stein and Zach Lipovsky, sees seven-year-old Chloe confined in the home she shares with her manic father, Henry.
After being forbidden to leave the decrepit house and seeing visions of a woman whose eyes are bleeding, Chloe eventually escapes and discovers she possesses the power to manipulate minds.
Unfortunately, agent Cecilia Ray (played by Park) soon gets in touch and reveals that the government know about Chloe and Henry’s abilities.
She claims a drone strike will be ordered on the house if they kill her. Not heeding her warning, a fight with Cecilia begins and Henry is fatally injured before Chloe kills her.
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The youngster then rescues the mysterious woman with bleeding eyes who turns out to be her mother, Mary Lewis (Amanda Crew).
Following the death of Henry, Mary vows to keep her daughter away from prying eyes.
However, Freaks concludes with Chloe refusing to continue hiding her powers and Mary agreeing that nobody can stop them from doing what they want as they fly off into the distance.
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Due to the torrent of high-profile movies released in 2019, some fans are only getting around to enjoying Freaks now.
One fan said: “Different but I liked it. Kept me guessing and curious at the start but all came together nice.”
Another viewer critiquing the thriller at the time of its release wrote: “The end won't be in too much doubt ... but Freaks revels in making sure the steps taken to get to such a point are playfully and emotionally subverting audience expectations.”
“The ending was lazy as hell,” complained another. “I loved the movie but a garbage ending nonetheless.”
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New York Times critic Jeannette Catsoulis wrote: “Its most effective trick, though, is to trap us all inside Chloe's head, presenting a child's-eye view of a world gone incomprehensibly mad.”
“I loved this movie!!! Reminded me of Firestarter,” claimed another viewer.
"I NEED a part 2," typed a Facebook user.
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Speaking about making a second part to Freaks, Stein told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019: “If people go see it and there’s a demand for more stories in the Freaks world, we’d love to get back into it.
“But at the same time, the constraints, the budget constraints creates smarter storytelling. We’d never want to lose that and fall into the trap of being too comfortable.”
Unfortunately, there has been no confirmation of a Freaks 2 in the works at the time of writing - but here’s hoping!
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV, Entertainment
Ella Scott