Freaked: Collector’s Edition (4K UHD Review)

Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
Review Date: Jan 20, 2026
Format: 4K Ultra HD

Director

Alex Winter, Tom Stern

Release Date(s)

1993 (November 5, 2025)

Studio(s)

Chiodo Brothers Productions/Tommy/Ufland Productions/Will Vinton Studios (Umbrella Entertainment)

Film/Program Grade: B
Video Grade: A+
Audio Grade: A+
Extras Grade: A+

umbrellaent.com.au

Review

[Editor’s Note: This is a Region-Free Australian 4K Ultra HD import.]

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey were minor successes upon their respective releases in 1989 and 1991, but they were popular enough and Keanu Reeves had become enough of a star that his co-star and close friend Alex Winter was able to get a long-gestating project off the ground, originally titled Very Special People, and later Hideous Mutant Freekz. By the time of its “release” in 1993 through 20th Century Fox, it was simply titled Freaked. A gloriously over-the-top monster movie romantic comedy, it’s a film that’s been out of circulation since its DVD release in 2005, which quickly went out of print. Its cult fan base has grown over the years, and thanks to Umbrella Entertainment’s new 4K Ultra HD release, it will definitely obtain more from at least a couple of generations who missed it the first time around.

Former child star Ricky Coogin (Alex Winter) accepts a large endorsement from the evil corporation Everything Except Shoes, led by CEO Dick Brian (William Sadler), to boost the image of their fertilizer Zygrot 24. Meanwhile, Ricky is constantly being harassed by his biggest fan, Stuey Gluck (Alex Zuckerman), who stows away aboard his plane to Santa Flan with his friend Ernie (Michael Stoyanov). Upon their arrival, they meet a protester named Julie (Megan Ward), who joins them on their journey when Ricky pretends to be injured to curry her favor. They wind up at Freek Land, a local carnival and freak show run by the eccentric Elijah C. Skuggs (Randy Quaid). Unaware of their fate, Elijah kidnaps them and using Zygrot 24, transforms them into hideous mutant freaks. Under Elijah’s captive, they meet fellow freaks Toad (Jaime Cardriche), Ortiz the Dog Boy (an uncredited Keanu Reeves), Sockhead (Bobcat Goldthwait), Worm (Derek McGrath), The Human Flame (Lee Arenberg), Nosey (Jeff Kahn), Rosie the Pinhead (Patti Tippo), Frogman (Tim Burns), The Bearded Lady (Mr. T), and Cowboy (John Hawkes). Becoming aware of Elijah’s plan to further mutate Ricky in order to destroy them all, they must band together to stop him and E.E.S. before it’s too late. Also among the cast are Brooke Shields, Morgan Fairchild, Deep Roy, Michu Meszaros, Calvert DeForest, Gibby Haynes, and Jon M. Chu.

Alex Winter and Tom Stern were friends and NYU students in the early 1980s, more or less struggling young filmmakers eager to get their feet in the door. Alex began taking acting projects like Death Wish 3 and The Lost Boys before co-starring in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, which lost its original distributor and was shelved for a couple of years. In the meantime, Alex and Tom befriended the rock band the Butthole Surfers and made a short film with them called Bar-B-Que Movie, an experimental spoof of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, before proposing that they do an entire feature together. Originally envisioned as an incredibly violent horror comedy starring the Butthole Surfers, no studio was interested in the project and they set it aside for a while. Alex and Tom would go on to make The Idiot Box for MTV, a show originally envisioned as anthology film with Sam Raimi producing. Retooled for television, it was a hit for the network that was beginning to dabble more and more in original programming. This small amount of exposure, as well as the Bill & Ted films, helped resurrect their Butthole Surfers script, which was rewritten as a vulgar horror comedy and greenlit by 20th Century Fox with a budget of $12 million dollars.

Nearly every major special make-up effects team was assembled to handle the large amount of prosthetics and effects for the film, including the likes of Screaming Mad George, Tony Gardner, and Steve Johnson, with future filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke serving as production designer and Jamie Thompson (Grave Secrets, The Decline of Western Civilization Part III) taking up cinematographer duties. It was a fun but tough shoot for everyone involved, and complications arose when the head of 20th Century Fox, Joe Roth, left the company to join another and was replaced by Peter Churnin, who wasn’t happy with how much money was being spent on the film. In the interim, the post production budget was slashed, negating the proposed soundtrack, and the film’s marketing which was non-existent. Disastrous test screenings didn’t help either, and even with positive word-of-mouth from the film’s premiere at the Toronto Film International Festival, Freaked was buried, screening in only two theaters with barely anyone aware of it.

As a result, most people who saw Freaked saw it on cable or VHS, and later DVD. Alex Winter and Tom Stern moved on to other projects, and Freaked slowly became a cult film much in the same manner as films like Nightbreed, a Clive Barker-directed film that was also heavy on strong visuals and heavy make-up effects. Overlooked for its sense of humor and style, Freaked is a fun and inventive monster movie comedy that can equal the silly of Airplane! while going toe to toe with many of the most visually-compelling fantasy films of the era. At the same time, it has a raw, handmade edge to it that’s common among films of its type, which is what makes it special.

Freaked was shot by director of photography Jamie Thompson on 35mm film, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Umbrella Entertainment debuts the film on Ultra HD with a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and encoded by Fidelity in Motion to a dual-layered BD-66 disc. Being an 80-minute film, it fits perfectly on a dual-layered disc, especially with the FiM encoding. It’s an amazing presentation with bitrates that sit between 80 and 100Mbps, with tight grain and high levels of fine detail. Gone are the murky and dull presentations of the past. This is a sharp picture with wonderful clarity, right down to the finest detail on the multiple prosthetic make-ups and various environments. The HDR grades allow for beautiful saturation, with deep blacks and excellent contrast, soaking up the detail in the shadows. Everything is stable and clean, leaving no room for complaint. It’s worth noting that the 20th Century Fox logo has been replaced by the Drafthouse Films logo at the front of the presentation.

Audio is included in English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. The film was released in 4-track Dolby Stereo, meaning the latter is likely the original soundtrack. It’s more ideal since it has a better focus on staging and low end response. The 5.1 track is fine, but it’s more of a cramped fold-out. Dialogue exchanges and sound effects are excellent, as is the music selection by the Butthole Surfers, Henry Rollins, Blind Idiot God, and Parliament Funkadelic. As a side note, it would be nice to see a distributor like Terror Vision Records pick up the rights to Freaked and finally release a long overdue soundtrack, to also include Iggy Pop’s demo for the film’s theme song that went unused. (For the record, a soundtrack was released by Mondo, but is long since out of print.)

Only available from the Umbrella Entertainment webstore, this Region-Free 3-Disc 4K Ultra HD Freaked: Collector’s Edition sits in a black Amaray case alongside two 1080p Blu-rays; a double-sided insert, featuring the original poster artwork with and without the rating classification notification; and a slipcover with the home video version of the original poster artwork. Also included is a re-creation of the cover for the So You’re a Hideous Mutant Freak—Now What? pamphlet; a set of custom Freaked stickers; a 3-part Hideous Mutant Freekz comic book screenplay adaptation by Steve Stiles, Bill Pearson, and Janice Miller; the 130-page Freaked: Script with artwork by Thomas Nicolette which features The Freekland Archives, containing Resident Freek: Ryan Patrick on His Freekland Archives, Freekland Interview with Alex Winter, and Freekland Interview with Tom J. Sterm from April 10, 1998; and the 142-page hardback book Freaked: Freeky Behind the Scenes, Essays and Art featuring the interview From Pee-wee to Freek Land: Title Designer David Daniels on Freaked by Justin Beahm, the essays Put That Thing Away: A Meditation on Alex Winter’s Freaked by Whitney Siebold, The Freaked Figure Mystery by Insane Mike Saunders, The Evolution of Dog Boy: Behind the Scenes Transformation of Keanu Reeves photo gallery, the essay The Idiot Box: MTV’s Unlikely Trendsetter by Insane Mike Saunders, a From Concept to Screen: The Art of Production Designer Catherine Hardwicke concept art gallery, a Behind the Scenes photo gallery, a Fantastic Humin Oddities photo gallery, a Freakland Archives promotional gallery, a Fan Art gallery, and a special thanks section. Everything sits in rigid hardbox packaging with artwork by Thomas Nicolette and a white envelope attached to the package with an A3 canvas poster reproduction of the original theatrical artwork. For those not interested in the Collector’s Edition packaging, a standard release is also available. Each Collector’s Edition package is a numbered release of 10,000 units... and after all of that, each disc contains the following extras:

DISC ONE (UHD)

Audio Commentary with Tom Stern and Alex Winter
Re-Release Trailer (HD – 1:51)

DISC TWO (BD)

Audio Commentary with Tom Stern and Alex Winter
Deleted Scenes (Upscaled SD – 7:13)
Hijinx in Freek Land (SD – 11:50)
There Are No Weirdos Here! (SD – 5:31)
It’s the Troll! (SD – 3:07)
Under Construcshen (SD – 3:38)
Behold... The Beast Boy! (SD – 6:56)
A Conversation with Tim Burns (SD – 23:20)
Transformed by the Goop: Silent Make-Up Tests (Upscaled SD – 73:13)
The Freaky Tapes: Extended Behind-the-Scenes Footage (SD – 123:14)
Petty Degradations: Uncut Behind-the-Scenes Footage (SD – 24:31)
NYU Sight & Sound Project (Upscaled SD – :54)
Jake Boston on Cult Movies & Their Second Life on Physical Media (SD – 11:58)

DISC THREE (BD)

Workprint Cut (Upscaled SD – 84:49)
Rehearsal Cut (SD – 83:49)
The Night’s Special Guest: An Interview with Alex Winter (HD – 33:26)
Very Special People: Co-Writer and Director and Co-Writer Tom Stern and Writer Tim Burns on Freaked (HD – 39:10)
The Glass Cyclops: Cinematographer Jamie Thompson and Camera Operator Harry Garvin on Freaked (HD – 17:42)
The Freekmaker: Creative Supervisor & Puppeteer Tony Gardner on Freaked (HD – 14:36)
Strange Days in Santa Flan: Production Designer Catherine Hardwicke on Freaked (HD – 10:40)
The Weird Revolution: Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers on Freaked (HD – 6:52)
A Conversation with Alex Winter and Bill Corso (HD – 24:52)
The Insanimator: Strata-cut Maesatro David Daniels on Freaked (HD – 18:31)
Re-Release Trailer (HD – 1:51)
Original Trailer (Upscaled SD – 1:59)

The audio commentary features writers, directors, and actors Tom Stern and Alex Winter, which was recorded for the 2005 Anchor Bay DVD release. Word of warning though, it’s on the non-politically correct side occasionally, but if you’re watching this film, chances are that you’re not going to be particularly bothered by that anyway. It’s a great track as the two of them watch the film and quip their way through it, but all in good fun as they provide a wealth of information about the making of the film and their off-the-cuff remarks about its ultimate fate.

The two Deleted Scenes were included in the UK version of the film. Wheel of Fortune shows the events leading up to the attempted milkman escape while Farewell to the Freeks shows Rick saying goodbye to everyone before being transformed on stage. Hijinx in Freek Land is a series of funny behind-the-scenes moments. There Are No Weirdos Here! is a series of rehearsals. It’s the Troll! is more rehearsal footage with Alex Zuckerman. Under Construcschen offers footage of the sets being built. Behold... The Beast Boy! offers a look a look at the special effects make-up being planned and applied, mostly Alex Winter’s. A Conversation with Tim Burns features a humorous series of interviews with the film’s co-writer about his involvement with the production. Transformed by the Goop features silent footage made up of make-up tests, color tests, and lighting tests for many of the make-up jobs and actors, including some early unused designs. The Freaky Tapes and Petty Degradations are extended sets of behind-the-scenes footage from weak or damaged sources, but nonetheless chronicle the making of the film. The NYU Sight & Sound Project is a short created by Tom Stern and Alex Winter for film school. Next is a film essay by Jake Boston about cult films and their importance on physical media.

The Workprint Cut is time-coded and features a number of alternate and extended moments, as well as temp music and missing scenes that had yet to be shot. The Rehearsal Cut is just that, rehearsals for most of the scenes in the film. All of this footage is VHS-sourced, with the workprint material looking particularly rough, but it gives you a rare peek behind the creative process, especially since licensing the music for the workprint would be nigh impossible in the US.

In The Night’s Special Guest, Alex Winter discusses his earliest filmmaking and acting days, his troubles trying to sell scripts to studios, getting The Idiot Box made, pitching Freaked to 20th Century Fox, working out pre-production and rehearsals, working with complicated make-up effects and shooting the film, joining and leaving film school, his love of prosthetic make-up, regime changes at the studio affecting the film’s release, the movie’s cult following, getting the distribution rights away from Fox and Disney, Deep Roy getting hurting on the set, nearly casting Oliver Reed, casting Randy Quaid, the difficulties on the set and during the aftermath, and his reflections on the experience. Very Special People is a Skype interview with Tom Stern and Tim Burns who speak about being influenced by the book Very Special People: The Struggles, Loves, and Triumphs of Human Oddities by Frederick Drimmer, writing a version of the film that was more of a rock and roll horror film, re-writing the script and coming up with new ideas, dealing with all of the designs and special effects make-up, working with Catherine Hardwicke as production designer, their memories of the set, Keanu Reeves appearing in the film uncredited and unrecognizable, co-directing with Alex Winter, various things that were cut before and after shooting, the difficult first day working with Randy Quaid, having problems with Mr. T, disastrous screenings and the aftermath, and the film’s cult following ever since.

In The Glass Cyclops, cinematographer Jamie Thompson and camera operator Harry Garvin talk about starting out working on music videos, learning on the job, working with Tom Stern and Alex Winter, problems arising due to the L.A. riots, being pleased with the set, shooting the revealing crane shot of Freek Land, difficulties on the set, and their thoughts on how the film turned out. In The Freekmaker, creative supervisor and puppeteer Tony Gardner speaks about how he got involved with the project, dividing the effects up with other make-up effects studios, demanding the directors’ attentions under pressure, details about various prosthetic make-ups, seeing the film for the first time, and taking in the experience. In Strange Days in Santa Flan, production designer Catherine Hardwicke discusses being interviewed for the project, her various design plans, the many sets and miniatures, and looking back on the film today. In The Weird Revolution, Butthole Surfers’ Paul Leary talks about meeting Tom Stern, working with Tom and Alex on the Bar-B-Que Movie short film, early talks about a movie starring the band, playing guitar at a screening of the film, making a documentary about the band with Tom, and why he feels that Freaked still resonates. Next is a new conversation between Alex Winter and special make-up effects artist and art department supervisor Bill Corso who share their memories of making the film with each other. The Insanimator is also a new interview with stop-motion animator David Daniels about his work in the film, with an appearance by the main title and animation designer Galen Beals. Last is the film’s re-release trailer and original trailer.

Although this is a packed release, there are a couple of things missing from the 2005 Anchor Bay Entertainment DVD release, which includes Tom Stern’s and Alex Winter’s short film Squeal of Death (available on Severin Films’ recent Blu-ray release of The Idiot Box), a Freaked Art Gallery, and the film’s screenplay via DVD-ROM.

For a movie that went bust before it was even released, Freaked has had an interesting aftermarket life, one that finally pays off with a 4K UHD edition that outdoes the Anchor Bay DVD release, and then some. Amazing picture and audio, as well as a stacked selection of extras and swag, make this one of Umbrella Entertainment’s finest home video offerings yet. Highly recommended.

- Tim Salmons

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