Freaked isn't your typical science fiction movie. It's got Randy Quaid as a mad scientist who uses a chemical to transform humans into freaks for his sideshow. Alex Winter, Bill of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures, is a self-absorbed former childstar who goes to Santa Flan, a poor South American country, where he's promoting Zygot 24. It's a fertilizer that has been banned in the USA but those third world countries are much more open to bribery and William Sadler is just the evil businessmand to want to supply that baksheesh for a chance at some new sales. He hires Alen to put a 
friendly face on his product and that's how Alex got to go to South America. It's there he takes a trip into the countryside and visits Randy's sideshow. Turns out Randy is right fond of Zygot 24. It's what he uses to change humans to freaks. Pretty soon Alex and his two friends are transformed. They try to escape but Randy has eye balls watching. Really, huge rastafarian eyeballs, with automatic weapons. We know that Alex has escaped the evil doctor's clutches, he's telling his story on a talk show hosted by Brooke Shields at the beginning of the movie. Keanu Reeves plays Ortiz the dog boy in an uncredited role. There's an interesting case besides - Morgan Fairchild, Megan Ward, John Hawkes, Mr T, Bobcat Goldthwait, Don Stark, Calvert DeForest, and Deep Red all make an appearance. I can't remember how many times I've seen this movie, more than half a dozen, but I still like seeing it. It's got plenty of jokes and goofy things. Not everyone is going to like it as much as I do but if you like a goofy movie with mutants then this might be for you. It was hated by the teens that went expecting another Bill and Ted so that's one good recommendation. It did poorly at the box office bringing in just over $29,000 on it's $12 million cost. I hope it did some better in home video. I bought it at least twice so you know I'm helping them get some of their nut back.
Because it was near Freaked in the boxes of dvd's I watched John Carpenter's 2001 film Ghosts Of Mars. It's not my favs of John's work but it's mostly watchable. It's a simple story. Some spirits of the long dead Martians have been released from a buried tomb and they've taken over the bodies of the local miners. The possessed kill the non-possessed and destroy everything they come in contact with. Pam Grier leads a group of soldiers into a town. They arrive on the ore train to an empty place. The only people they find have been decapitated and hung up by their feet. There's lots of fighting and nearly everyone dies. There's a pretty good cast in Natasha Henstidge, Jason Statham, Ice Cube, Clea Duval, Joanna Cassidy and Peter Jason. Sadly the movie is not above average and fails to keep my attention at times. It's no Big Trouble In Little China or Escape From New York. Nice interplay from Ice and Natasha but that's little enough to bring me back to it for a few more years.
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