Frankie Freako (2024) Review

Yuppie Conor (Conor Sweeney) is a hardworking, straight arrow type who thinks adding red text to a presentation could be too hot to handle for some. He’s also targeting a promotion at work, a promotion which boss Mr. Buechler (Adam Brooks) will make a reality if Conor helps him out with some document shredding, the act of which should be clearly viewable on the company’s CCTV system, no questions asked.

With wife Kristina (Kristy Wordsworth) out of town and the sudden realisation that his life may be in something of a fug, Conor’s imagination is caught by a TV spot advertising a party hotline, the host of which is leather jacketed, dancing goblin Frankie Freako. What Conor doesn’t realise that calling up Frankie is just the start of a bizarre, dimension-hopping adventure as Frankie and his fellow freakos Dottie Dunko and Boink Bardo show up at his place and they’re ready to get their freak on…

The prospect of a new film from Psycho Goreman writer/director Steven Kostanski is always appealing – to me, anyway – and Frankie Freako brings both the Astron-6 folks and PG’s brand of interdimensional chaos back to the table. It’s also somewhat indebted to Ghoulies Go To College in terms of an aforementioned character’s name and the fact that it features three bawdy, bantering puppet monsters short on manners but big on destruction.

For anyone who remembers Ghoulies Go To College and is already clenching up, allow me to allay those fears. Frankie Freako is in a different league to that awkward mix of Gremlins and sub-Animal House sex romp. It also has a leading man who you don’t want to see killed off. Sorry, Ghoulies Go To College, but your “hero” Skip Carter is an unrelenting douchebag and I was kind of rooting for the bad guys by about halfway through that one. Here, it’s all about how freaky you can get and whether or not Conor will leave the world of the square and join the freakshow.

Harking back to the older kid friendly, horror adjacent flicks that flew off the video rental store shelves in the 80s and early 90s, Frankie Freako delivers on all of the puppet-based, slapstick violence you need, especially in the first half, which reverses all of those Home Alone tropes as Conor is bashed repeatedly with various items, usually in the head or groin, accompanied by a wisecrack from his unwelcome guests or in the case of Boink, a well-placed comment of “Shabba-doo”. He’s kind of the Groot in the Freako pack.

In keeping with the movies to which this pays homage, and unlike Psycho Goreman, the blood and guts dial has been turned down but the non-stop gags remain, including occasional views of a TV programme fronted by a brusque antiques expert, a bizarre yet ultimately relevant subplot involving Kristina’s love of firearms and a running joke involving glue which gets dafter with each visit. There’s also Conor’s refusal to curse, even when he’s just had a shoe catapulted into his balls.

The grab bag of influences also extends to the ongoing story, which reveals key details about the existence of the Freakos on Earth and then swerves into another dimension in which ever freakier inhabitants dwell. There’s even a Temple Of Doom flavoured minecart chase to enjoy and the vindication – for Conor, at least – of discovering that sector subdivisions not only form part of interminable PowerPoint sessions but are also a key component in calculating a being’s freakiness.

As someone who still loves Manborg (and always will), Frankie Freako demonstrates the continuing evolution of this group of filmmakers without having lost any of that earlier effort’s unshakeable charm, skewed world view and ability to use available resources to the max. The visuals pop without being over polished, the puppet mastery (yes, there’s surely a nod or two to that franchise along the way) is undeniable and Frankie himself is a loveable rogue for the ages, given hilarious life courtesy of spot on voice work from Matthew Kennedy. Manborg stans will be delighted that Mina herself, Meredith Sweeney, provides the vocal talent for Dottie and Brooks does double duty, lending his dulcet tones to Boink.

The fact that there’s so much packed into Frankie Freako – office politics, relationship problems, human v Freako fights, monster mashes and staying up until eight thirty on a Friday – may mean that those looking for something a little less chaotic might balk at a tale which jumps from pillar to post and piles on the silliness at every turn. For the rest of us, the constant inventiveness and imagination will likely leave a smile on your face, all realised for far less than the catering budget of a studio blockbuster.

The cut price world building works brilliantly, the offbeat humour hits far more than it misses and the overall package will generate a feeling of warm nostalgia for those of us who spent our childhood watching similar content on the small screen while plonking a pertinent question in the minds of today’s youngsters: You used to rent stuff like this? Yes, we did and had Frankie Freako been available back then, the VHS of it would have been knackered from the number of folks hiring the tape. All that Steven Kostanski’s movie lacks is an opportunity to adjust the tracking. Crack open your preferred beverage – maybe a can of Frankie’s favoured Fart Cola – and taste the undiluted fun of this one. Despite the anarchy, there’s something weirdly wholesome about the whole thing.

Movie Rating:

Frankie Freako trailer