That such a daring, transgressive film was made by a major studio in the early ‘30s remains a marvel (thanks, Irving Thalberg); that it irreparably harmed the career of its director is disheartening if not surprising.

| Oct 24, 2023

Each one, by nature of the period in which they were released and how audiences responded to them, have a legacy that must be explored, mulled over, and come to terms with if cinema is going to tell honest stories without exploitation.

| Oct 17, 2023

An astounding film.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Oct 14, 2023

While Freaks might not be perfect, its respect and empathy for such a marginalized group so early on is absolutely worth noting.

| Sep 11, 2022

A genuine rarity about all that is ugly and beautiful about being human

| Original Score: 4/4 | Mar 2, 2022

It isn't so much about scares as it is a character study for a little person lead.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jul 27, 2020

Freaks (1932) is a shocking, bizarre and unsettling horror film, but a durable cult favorite. Tod Browning directed the unusual, creepy, and gothic horror film with real-life side-show "freaks" - it was one of his best works...

| Original Score: A+ | Sep 29, 2019

...despite its gruesome conclusion, the movie seems to do everything in its power to create community.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 17, 2015

Browning locked in some of horror cinema's most indelible images.

| Original Score: A | Oct 15, 2015

[Boasts] some of the most terrifying scenes ever consigned to film.

| Sep 28, 2015

With strong performances and a surprising tenderness, Freaks more than deserves its towering reputation.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 18, 2015

Browning's sympathies are clear; if there are "freaks" on display here, they are not the versatile performers to whom the title seems to allude.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 14, 2015

Undoubtedly flawed, Freaks is also admirably bonkers and quite simply unforgettable.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 10, 2015

One of the most powerful films ever made about the need for humanity and solidarity in the face of cruelty and oppression.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 8, 2015

A masterpiece of the horror mold, and one that warrants a loyal audience.

| Oct 28, 2013

[VIDEO ESSAY] In spite of the tremendous success he enjoyed with "Dracula" in 1931, Tod Browning's directorial career was effectively ruined after he made "Freaks" the following year.

| Original Score: A- | Dec 9, 2011

From scandalous Hollywood outcast to influential cult classic, Tod Browning's 1932 dark drama about (and starring) freak-show performers is now truly "one of us".

| Original Score: 5/5 | Oct 20, 2010

Freaks is sumptuously produced, admirably directed, and no cost was spared. But Metro failed to realize that even with a different sort of offering the story still is important.

| Mar 26, 2009

Director Tod Browning, one of the few truly individual directors in the U. S., is a specialist in horror.

| Oct 7, 2008

To the horror movie, a genre he helped create, he brought a taste for Victorian melodrama and an understanding, which he must have gained in the circus, for the isolated lives of weird and deformed outsiders.

| Sep 24, 2007