The Freakmaker 1974 Written by Edward Mann and Robert D Weinbach, directed by Jack Cardiff. Originally released at The Mutations. Heavily influenced by Tod Browning's Freaks.
Donald Pleasence is a scientist who wants to merge humans with plants to create superior beings. Donald has Tom Baker, and some little people, kidnap subjects for his experiments. Tom is a heavily deformed man who co-owns a circus freak sideshow with Michael Dunn. Turns out Donald's not so good at his job and the failures that live are turned over to Tom to put on display. Donald hopes to help Tom look more normal with his science and Tom is getting impatient for something to happen. Tom's a horrible man who treats his employees poorly. He really hates them and they aren't too friendly with them either.
Things fall apart for our characters as the movie progresses and the tension builds between Tom and Donald and the sideshow people. It's a bleak tale with an appropriate ending. It's a bit pokey and tends to wander off the story with odd visual scenes. You can try it out on YouTube, the link is in the title above. It's a creepy thing with some gore and violence. It's not outstanding but it is unusual. Some of the make up is rather ludicrous, that's the movie's weakest point but it still manages to deliver an odd story that kept me interested to the end. I hadn't seen the movie since I'd first seen it in 1994 so I had forgotten what it was all about. I'd watch it again, hopefully sooner than 27 years.
Comments