Movie Review: "Freaks: You're One Of Us"

 

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the photos. They are respectively owned by the creators of Freaks and Netflix.

Warning: Small spoilers!

This popped in Netflix's Coming Soon tab, and the trailer looked interesting. I was looking for a unique superhero action kind of film rather than the usual Marvel and DC Comics. 

Freaks: You're One of Us (German film) is about Wendy, a mother and fry cooker in a fast-food restaurant, who discovers she has superpowers after she stops taking her meds. She's not alone.

It's a nice idea. Our heroes in the story think they have mental health problems when in fact, the doctor and this health organization knowingly suppress their superpowers by giving them medicine. The whole purpose is to help them be normal. 

The beginning of the film starts out well until the inciting incident where Wendy finally discovers her powers. You know how she reacted? Meh. As if nothing extraordinary happened.  The film didn't give the audience and the hero the chance to relish the discovery of her powers together. There wasn't any exploration of the lengths of her abilities.

The story truly went downhill from there. 

It's suddenly become fast-paced. There was no time to get attached to our hero or the new characters like Elmar, the geeky co-worker of Wendy who has the ability to generate and control electricity, and Marek, the invincible homeless man who actually convinced Wendy to stop taking the pills. It's a movie in fast forward. 

I thought initially that they're like putting two movies in one, but not really it's just a badly made movie. I really don't know what to make of it, but perhaps this feature is low-budget, especially with the VFX. What they've done right though is how they made one silly-looking guy into a villain. It's those delusional kinds.

The movie left me asking more questions than being basically satisfied with the entertainment. The most important one is what was the bigger purpose of the organization that is holding the people with special powers back? The main doctor, Dr. Stern, said somewhere near the end that she thought she was helping them to be normal. It doesn't sit well with me. That couldn't just be it? Plus, she doesn't even act or feel like she's the big mastermind behind all of this.

The whole film was touching different plot points but not enticing us on any of them. It's all stop and goes. 

OVERALL

At the end of it all, I ask myself what's the movie trying to say. I guess it is to be aware of your capabilities and don't take it for granted, don't abuse it, and be responsible. Basically, it's the Spiderman quote "With great power comes great responsibility"

They really had a nice idea and concept, but if only they give enough time to build the story.

RATE: 💥💥

EXPERIENCE: 👊