My quick rating - 3.4/10. This is just an oddball, low-budget horror-comedy that takes a deep dive into the absurd — and sadly, it doesn’t come up for air. Despite the potential for a campy, over-the-top romp, it feels more like a haphazard experiment in silliness gone wrong. The movie kicks off with an uptight yuppie, Conor Sweeney (character and actual actor name, real creative huh?) calling a late-night party hotline that promises “out-of-this-world fun.” Instead, he ends up battling an army of pint-sized evil led by Frankie Freako, a rock 'n' roll goblin straight out of some twisted fever dream. While the premise sounds like it could lead to a fun, chaotic adventure, the execution falls flat at almost every turn. First, let’s talk about the music. The softcore porn-style intro seems to be aiming for ironic humor but lands with a thud. It builds up as if something wild or hilarious is about to happen—only for nothing to follow. If this was intended as a joke, it completely missed the mark. Instead, it feels like a frustrating tease. The puppetry is another glaring issue. While some might argue that cheap puppets are part of the charm in movies like this, here, they’re an eyesore. Frankie Freako himself is a far cry from the more polished and entertaining practical effects seen in Psycho Goreman which was by the same director, Steven Kostanski. The goblin looks less like a maniacal party leader and more like a failed Halloween decoration. The acting, particularly from lead Sweeney playing Conor, is abysmal. His performance swings between wooden and overacted in the worst ways, making it difficult to care about anything his character does. The rest of the cast doesn’t fare much better, as the dialogue is littered with inside jokes that are likely amusing to the filmmakers but alienating to the audience. I am sure the naming is hilarious to someone on the crew. One bright spot is the silly “clean-up-after-the-party” montage. Set to fittingly energetic music, it’s the kind of playful, ridiculous sequence that this film desperately needed more of. Unfortunately, this moment of fun doesn’t save the rest of the movie. The ending tries to bring the chaotic narrative full circle, but the absurdity only highlights how incoherent the story has been. The film’s conclusion is so dumb and over-the-top that it feels like a parody of itself and not in a good way. In the end, Frankie Freako feels like an amateurish attempt at capturing campy magic, but without the wit, charm, or skill needed to pull it off. It’s a bizarre mess with few redeeming qualities. If you’re a fan of so-bad-it’s-good cinema, you might get a chuckle or two, but for most, this is a skip.
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