Tod Brownings' "Freaks" gets reinvented for the hip 1970s with a mad scientist angle added. Donald Pleasence plays Dr. Nolter, an insane scientist / professor who has mad ideas about breeding humans with plants to create some sort of "superior" being. Tom Baker co-stars as Lynch, a sideshow proprietor - himself very deformed - who procures victims for Nolters' experiments. Nolter has made many empty promises that he can reverse Lynchs' deformities, which is what keeps Lynch going. Some of Nolters' students get suspicious when friends from their little clique go missing.
"The Freakmaker", a.k.a. "The Mutations", has enough twisted and weird stuff in it to make it fairly effective as a horror film. However, Pleasence (who is only here for the pay check) is clearly just going through the motions, and the story unfortunately plays a little flat at times. Had it had more energy and style, it could have been something special. As it is, though, it displays a certain creepy ingenuity in terms of effects, and the fact that it employed many real-life human "freaks" (an "alligator woman", a "monkey woman", a man who's not nicknamed "Popeye" for nothing, etc.) gives it potency, just like Brownings' film did so memorably in the 1930s. And the fate of Nolters' victims is properly disturbing. This was certainly a very interesting directing gig for esteemed, Oscar-winning cinematographer Jack Cardiff.
Other memorable aspects include the VERY offbeat musical score by Basil Kirchin, and the fascinating time-lapse photography by Ken Middleham, who supervised the insect sequences for "Bug" (1975) and "Phase IV". The performances are variable (Julie Ege, Brad Harris, Scott Antony, Michael Dunn, and Jill Haworth co-star), with Baker and Dunn doing the best work. Lynch, despite his physical appearance, feels NO kinship with the freaks at his circus, feeling that somehow he's "better" than them. This is, by and large, NOT a sympathetic character.
Overall, "The Freakmaker" shows genre fans a fairly good time, especially when it comes to the big finale which does hearken right back to "Freaks".
Many years later, Rob Zombie sampled some of Nolters' dialogue for his tune "Rock and Roll (In a Black Hole)".
Seven out of 10.
"The Freakmaker", a.k.a. "The Mutations", has enough twisted and weird stuff in it to make it fairly effective as a horror film. However, Pleasence (who is only here for the pay check) is clearly just going through the motions, and the story unfortunately plays a little flat at times. Had it had more energy and style, it could have been something special. As it is, though, it displays a certain creepy ingenuity in terms of effects, and the fact that it employed many real-life human "freaks" (an "alligator woman", a "monkey woman", a man who's not nicknamed "Popeye" for nothing, etc.) gives it potency, just like Brownings' film did so memorably in the 1930s. And the fate of Nolters' victims is properly disturbing. This was certainly a very interesting directing gig for esteemed, Oscar-winning cinematographer Jack Cardiff.
Other memorable aspects include the VERY offbeat musical score by Basil Kirchin, and the fascinating time-lapse photography by Ken Middleham, who supervised the insect sequences for "Bug" (1975) and "Phase IV". The performances are variable (Julie Ege, Brad Harris, Scott Antony, Michael Dunn, and Jill Haworth co-star), with Baker and Dunn doing the best work. Lynch, despite his physical appearance, feels NO kinship with the freaks at his circus, feeling that somehow he's "better" than them. This is, by and large, NOT a sympathetic character.
Overall, "The Freakmaker" shows genre fans a fairly good time, especially when it comes to the big finale which does hearken right back to "Freaks".
Many years later, Rob Zombie sampled some of Nolters' dialogue for his tune "Rock and Roll (In a Black Hole)".
Seven out of 10.