February 9, 2025

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

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Experimental Silent Era Horror Fails To Deliver – The Freaks Of Fancy (FrightFest 2024)

A woman standing behind a shark's jaw in The Freaks Of Fancy

The Freaks of Fancy, premiering at FrightFest 2024, centres around four newly graduated medical students in 1927 who are given the opportunity by their controversial mentor to spend the weekend at his island mansion. It is soon revealed that the reasons behind Dr Wakefield (Gordon Lawson) allowing his students to visit his home are a tad more nefarious than first thought, as he plots and schemes behind closed doors.

The narrative itself is a classic tale of its time – a mad scientist trying to excel in his field, a group of young naïve students at the centre of the evil plot, and therefore a creeping dread ensues whilst the audience tries to establish who will survive. The clear gothic themes and flapper girl energy entrenched in every shot make a lot of the film quite charming, with a musical performance from Cely-An (Holly Lovelady) and Gloria (Rachel Brownstein) thrown in to establish the party hard attitude of the roaring 20s.

Although The Freaks of Fancy is clearly well-researched in terms of the general look and aesthetic of silent movies, and the era in which it is set, the actual delivery of this style is a little lacklustre. It leaves space to wonder whether the movie's aim would have been presented more effectively if the film was an actual silent movie with caption slides and jaunty organ . This way, the over-the-top acting from all involved may have suited the style a little more.

The look of shots with sepia, purple and green filters splashed across them does reflect the slightly worn films that still survive from this era, but the final product feels a tad rough around the edges. The coloured shots often leave the audience struggling to see exactly what is happening in the scene, and the sound mixing of the dialogue and music blends or drops out often enough that it is noticeable to those attempting to follow the story. These factors may be down to budgetary constraints but give the overall feel of the film a very “university student crafting their art” vibe.

This film had promise and potential, it just didn't deliver as hoped in the end. The Freaks of Fancy is the first attempt at a feature for Léon and something that should not discourage him from pursuing further projects. If anything, The Freaks of Fancy at its rawest form shows promise for what could be achieved in the future.

The Freaks Of Fancy had its world premiere at on Friday, August 23.