Freaked
From the minds of Alex Winter, Tom Stern and Tim Burns, the little seen Freaked is a gem of absurdist cinema, and features a brilliant, but uncredited performance by Keanu Reeves, as a dog. This surreal black comedy from 1993 follows former child star Ricky (Winter), his friend Ernie (Michael Stoyanov) and an environmentalist named Julie (Megan Ward) as they find themselves at the mercy of Freak Show operator Elijah C. Skuggs (Randy Quaid).
They discover that Skuggs creates his own ‘freaks’ by mutating people with a particular chemical, and he soon uses the process on the bewildered trio. Julie and Ernie become conjoined, while Ricky becomes ‘half-monster.’ In trying to figure out how to escape, Ricky gets to know the rest of the freaks – including Bobcat Goldthwait, John Hawkes and Mr T – who are led by Ortiz the Dog Boy (Keanu Reeves). As Ricky’s popularity within the group grows, a power struggle develops between him and Ortiz.
Freaked contains a comedic performance by Keanu Reeves that is filled with such joyful abandon that it is hard not to find his canine playfulness infectious. Unrecognizable under layers of fur, he engages in strategies to manipulate and dominate, while periodically pausing for a scratch behind the ear. Sniffing, growling and howling at the sky, Ortiz the Dog Boy is a stand-out role in a strange and surprising movie.