There’s no price tag on ambition, which is a sentiment that applies to both ends of the budgetary spectrum. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s bread and butter is churning out $200 million blockbusters, but 2018’s Freaks is one of the finest superhero stories to emerge in years, with the minor masterpiece being cobbled together for an unbelievable $2,000.
Incorporating elements of science fiction and horror into a story that’s deeply rooted in the tropes and trappings of the comic book genre, the story finds a 7 year-old girl being kept locked inside the house by her father to keep her sheltered from a world she’s deliberately hidden from for reasons that soon become clear.
As it transpires, young Chloe is an Abnormal – a rare group of enhanced individuals who possess unique and often dangerous abilities – and there are people out there who want to apprehend the child for nefarious and experimental purposes. Co-writers and directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein knocked it out of the park with their incredible lo-fi gem, which proved to be hugely profitable despite a box office haul of $350,000 sounding measly on paper.
Throw in Rotten Tomatoes scores of 88 and 86 percent from critics and audiences, and it’s abundantly obvious that Freaks is a movie that deserves to be seen by a much larger audience than it’s currently managed to enrapture. Thankfully, Redditors have been out in force to celebrate the many merits of what’s for all intents and purposes the best unofficial X-Men film you’re ever likely to see.