“Freaks Of Nature” is a horror-comedy-action hybrid that was released the day before Halloween, 2015. For some odd reason, the movie was released in slightly more than 100 theaters. To put that number in perspective, “Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse” is considered a small release with a 1,500 theater release, and Oscar winning independent movie “Boyhood” got 700+. So, this is a super tiny release, which is how it almost passed me by. I hadn’t heard of this movie until Brad Jones (aka Cinema Snob aka Kung Fu Ted aka 80s Dan- I miss that show) did a Midnight Screenings posting for the movie, which he had just discovered. I got less than ten minutes in, when I had heard enough to know I needed to see this (a viewing of the trailer confirmed such). Fortunately, there was a theater super close to where I live that had the movie. And that rambling prologue brings us to now, so, shall we see if it was all worth it?

Also, very minor spoilers ahead. Very minor.

The plot is zany brilliance-
In the town of Dillford, Ohio, humans, vampires, and zombies all co-exist. There is uneasy truce, but all sides get into a free-for-all when the alien apocalypse begins in their town. Can human Dag (Nicholas Braun), his best friends vampire Petra (Mackenzie Davis), and zombie Ned (Josh Fadem) stop the infighting, get the girl of Dag’s dreams, Lorelei (Vanessa Hudgens), and figure out what the aliens want?

 

Here is a list of most of the cast:

• Nicholas Braun as Dag Parker.

• Mackenzie Davis as Petra.

• Josh Fadem as Ned.

• Denis Leary as Rick.

• Mae Whitman as Jenna.

• Keegan-Michael Key as Mr. Keller.

• Bob Odenkirk as Mr. Parker.

• Joan Cusack as Mrs. Parker.

• Rachael Harris as Mrs. Mosley.

• Patton Oswalt as Stuart Miller.

• Cerina Vincent as Daisy.

 

Yeah, with a cast like that, even though the premise definitely involves horror elements, I hope you can tell this is very much a comedy. And they are all good as hell. Braun is very likable and easy to root for as the lead. Although him still playing a high school student ten years after “Sky High” is slightly absurd, he does look younger than he is, so not a real complaint there. Mackenzie Davis is great at showing the despair and heartache her character is going through early on, and she is excellent in her fight scenes. Fadem makes his decision to become a zombie understandable, even relatable. Leary is playing, what else? An asshole! But an ending speech actually makes you feel sorry for him, and his zingers are on point.

Key, as a vampire teacher, wrings a lot of laughs out of a character that is sort of, entirely awful. But you do empathize with him. Cusack and Odenkirk are hilariously crazy together, and Oswalt, whose screentime is just a brief cameo, is really funny, and it was cool to see him here. Really, all the cast is game for the craziness on display, and do their level best to keep the energy and laughs up and coming.

 

Oren Uziel’s (“22 Jump Street” natch!) script has a lot of spinning plates- all the horror elements, the action stuff, the high school bits, the family drama angle; seriously, any combination of two of those could be their own thing (or hell, the right version of just one them could be!). All of this, while still maintaining a lighthearted tone, with a good number of laugh out loud moments: “I think I am having brain withdrawals”, spoken by Ned, is just one example. Yes, the zombies can talk, but only if they don’t eat brains, as that basically gets them buzzed off their rocker, and the more they don’t eat them the smarter they become (but they’ll also barely be able to do much else; starvation and all that). How awesomely canny/ insanely original is that? Its best stroke of genius though, is to never bother explaining how Dillford became what we see in the movie. Through dialogue we discover that it has been this way for over 200 years, but there is no explanation or backstory. Either accept it, or move on. I accepted it, and am glad I did.

 

This is only director Robbie Pickering’s second feature length movie (and only third overall). Which is surprising, given the confidence with which the style and energy are displayed. The blocking of the action, the humor, the quiet moments, and the pacing here are perfect, and given the sort of madcap adventure going on, keeping up that level of ambition and making it all work is impressive.

The editing by Craig Alpert is one of the strongest things here. Through careful timing and precision cuts, it delivers some excellent visual gags, and maintains the frantic pace once everyone starts fighting everyone. Also, featuring impressive use of cross cutting, and match cutting, the editing helps tie together the various genres into one cohesive whole. Director Of Photography Uta Briesewitz’s lensing is also quite good. The nighttime looks like nighttime, but is never too dark to see things, and the blocking of foreground and background action means the frames are also packed to the brim with something to look at.

 

Fil Eisler’s music is really good, never landing too heavy on the comedic or horror sides, so the proceedings never sound false or hokey. The CGI is quite good, and used sparingly, given what we are dealing with. The alien ships are big and bright, and the aliens’ movements and attacks are CGI, but look good and have a weight. However, most of the CGI is used for the vampire explosions; which is where most of the blood splatter is too. The explosions are oddly fun and creepy, and look good (mind you, just the actual explosion is CGI, the most of the blood is real fake blood). The zombies have great makeup effects, and the animatronic alien at the end is really cool.

 

Sadly, not everything is sunshine, rainbows, and vampire guts! The movie tries a little too hard to sell the over-the-top zaniness, and 95% of that is okay, but every now and then, the movie should have slowed down so the audience can let the dramatic stakes sink in a little bit more. Roughly halfway through the movie, it finally starts to do this. Also, vampires just need a ton of sunscreen to be okay to walk in the daylight- there is no visual gag here, and it is only brought up once. I didn’t find this to be funny, or used to the extent that it could have been.

An interesting reveal of Dag’s family tree at the end, while well done and thematically logical, is really easy to deduce from the moment it is hinted at. If you think about it long enough, you can probably figure it out right now. Dag is nicknamed Lorelei’s weed closet, and that whole subplot is pretty unnecessary. But, overall the plot is pretty exciting and engaging.

Look, this movie makes fun of “Twilight”, references the classic monsters in some cool ways, and is hilarious to boot. While not quite perfect, the cast consistently sells the madcap shenanigans, the cinematography and editing are excellent, the script has genuine wit, and the director strings everything together admirably. It is the perfect cure for a rough day, a headache, or a craving for original, lighthearted fun.