Freaky Tales

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Freaky Tales contains four interconnected stories involving, among others, a criminal (Pedro Pascal’s Clint) attempting to go straight, a dirty cop (Ben Mendelsohn) with a predilection for young girls, and a basketball star (Jay Ellis’ Sleepy Floyd) out for revenge. Filmmakers Boden and Fleck, armed with their own screenplay, delivers a typically erratic anthology picture that does, for the most part, hit far more than it misses, as the picture boasts a fun, briskly-paced sensibility that’s reflected in its myriad of appealing attributes and consistently irreverent approach – with the entertaining atmosphere heightened by the top-notch work of its charismatic performers. (Pascal’s engrossing turn remains an ongoing highlight, to be sure, although it’s clear that a captivating mid-movie cameo appearance stands as the film’s high-water-mark.) And while the inclusion of the narrative’s second story, featuring the exploits of two would-be singers, is questionable at best (ie it could’ve been lifted right out of the proceedings with little ill effect), Freaky Tales benefits from a second half centered around the electrifying exploits of Pascal and Ellis’ respective figures – which, by the time the action-packed final stretch rolls around, confirms the movie’s place as a compulsively watchable endeavor that should’ve topped out at around 90 minutes.

***1/2 out of ****