Review of Freaks (1932) by Alex S — 23 May 2010

In 1932, it is doubtful that Joe Moviewatcher was accustomed to seeing siamese twins, a man with no lower torso and other similar characters in a tale of revenge against one who takes advantage of their dwarven friend.

That's still kind of difficult to come by in today's time but this must have been a complete surprise in the days before the Internet. The thing audiences then (and probably now, despite the pre-screening notice) failed to understand is that the "freaks" here are deservedly treated as actors and the mental mirror held up to viewers' preconceived prejudices make for some far less flattering images than anything you'll see here.

So, the token "sideshow acts" in a circus get wise to trapeze girl's plot to extort money from one of their own and then ride off into the sunset with the strong man after the victim is poisoned.

Yeah, good luck with that, buddy. While not perfectly realized (some shots are kind of "off," which is clear as mud, but you'll understand what I mean if you see this, and not everyone is really given a chance to shine), this is still a powerful little film that will probably terrify anyone who watches it into absolutely never riding a horse-drawn carriage in a lightening storm.