# Freaked
**Freaked** is a 1993 American comedy film directed by Tom Stern and [Alex Winter](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-winter), who wrote the screenplay with Tim Burns, about a former child star who is mutated into a sideshow freak at a mad scientist's farm. It was produced for 20th Century Fox, rated PG-13, and runs 80 minutes.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59530-FREAKED)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Directors and writers | Tom Stern and Alex Winter, from a screenplay by Winter, Stern, and Tim Burns[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59530-FREAKED) |
| Release | Opened 1 October 1993 in Los Angeles and New York on two screens, grossing $6,957 on opening weekend[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59530-FREAKED) |
| Budget | $10,000,000 from 20th Century Fox per TCM; FilmRadar lists $13,000,000 and a gross of $29,296[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/457145/freaked) • [3](https://filmradar.nl/waar-kijken/freaked-1993) |
| Principal cast | Alex Winter (Ricky Coogan), Michael Stoyanov (Ernie), Megan Ward (Julie), Randy Quaid (Elijah C. Skuggs), [William Sadler](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-sadler-actor), Mr. T, Brooke Shields[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59530-FREAKED) • [3](https://filmradar.nl/waar-kijken/freaked-1993) |
| Uncredited role | Keanu Reeves as Ortiz the Dogboy[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/freaked) |
| Working titles | Very Special People (production) and Hideous Mutant Freekz (original screenplay)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59530-FREAKED) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/457145/freaked) |
| Reception | Metascore of 58, "mixed or average"[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/freaked/critic-reviews/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
Ricky Coogan (Alex Winter) is a former child star hired as celebrity spokesperson by the Everything Except Shoes (EES) [Corporation](https://www.edgepedia.org/corporation), a disgraced chemical company facing rumors of a toxic substance in its products called Zygrot-24.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59530-FREAKED) • [6](https://www.fangoria.com/umbrella-entertainment-freaked-collectors-edition/) Sent to the fictional South American country of Santa Flan to debunk the reports, Ricky travels with his best friend Ernie (Michael Stoyanov) and encounters the activist Julie ([Megan Ward](https://www.edgepedia.org/megan-ward)).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59530-FREAKED) • [3](https://filmradar.nl/waar-kijken/freaked-1993) The three fall into the hands of the eccentric scientist Elijah C. Skuggs ([Randy Quaid](https://www.edgepedia.org/randy-quaid)), who uses Zygrot 24 to transform them into mutants and adds them to the freak show at his amusement park, from which they try to escape.[6](https://www.fangoria.com/umbrella-entertainment-freaked-collectors-edition/) • [7](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/freaked/)
The supporting cast plays the sideshow's inhabitants: [Mr. T](https://www.edgepedia.org/mr-t) as the Bearded Lady, Bobcat Goldthwait as a human sock puppet, and [Keanu Reeves](https://www.edgepedia.org/keanu-reeves), uncredited, as Ortiz the Dogboy.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/freaked) Winter described the film's tone as "Airplane meets Evil Dead 2."[8](https://bloody-disgusting.com/exclusives/3911706/alex-winter-talks-freaked-4k-restoration-watch-an-exclusive-clip-now/)
## Origins and production
Winter and Stern met at NYU and had directed together for over seven years, making music videos, commercials, and the six-episode MTV sketch comedy series *The Idiot Box* (1990–1991); *Freaked* reunited them with that show's writer Tim Burns.[9](https://alexwinter.com/projects/freaked/) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59530-FREAKED) They pitched 20th Century Fox on an anarchic comedy called *Hideous Mutant Freekz*, originally conceived as a low-budget, gross-out horror movie.[10](https://filmmakermagazine.com/132340-interview-alex-winter-bill-corso-freaked/) • [8](https://bloody-disgusting.com/exclusives/3911706/alex-winter-talks-freaked-4k-restoration-watch-an-exclusive-clip-now/) The studio instead financed it on a larger scale and retooled it as a PG-13 mainstream comedy; TCM puts the budget at $10,000,000, while FilmRadar lists $13,000,000.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/457145/freaked) • [3](https://filmradar.nl/waar-kijken/freaked-1993) • [8](https://bloody-disgusting.com/exclusives/3911706/alex-winter-talks-freaked-4k-restoration-watch-an-exclusive-clip-now/)
A March 1992 *Hollywood Reporter* production chart scheduled principal photography to begin 8 April 1992 in Los Angeles under the working title *Very Special People*, but filming did not get underway until June 1992.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59530-FREAKED) The film was shot at Occidental Studios, Hollywood, with [Catherine Hardwicke](https://www.edgepedia.org/catherine-hardwicke) as production designer.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59530-FREAKED) The mutant designs were practical effects by the Chiodo Brothers, the creators of *Killer Klowns from Outer Space*.[11](https://enzian.org/film/freaked)
## Release and reception
Fox gave the film a minimal release. It opened on 1 October 1993 on just two screens, in Los Angeles and New York, taking in $6,957 on opening weekend, and reviews were largely negative at the time.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59530-FREAKED) Winter later told *Filmmaker* magazine: "Freaked wasn't a flop; it straight-up did not get released. It got stuck in, like, one theater as a contractual obligation." He said the studio decided in advance that the film had no commercial prospects, though it received a good review in *The New York Times* and a strong reception at the Midnight Madness section of the Festival of Festivals, the year before that section's festival was rebranded as TIFF.[10](https://filmmakermagazine.com/132340-interview-alex-winter-bill-corso-freaked/)
Retrospective critical scores have been mixed to favorable. Metacritic records a Metascore of 58 from twelve critics.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/freaked/critic-reviews/) *Entertainment Weekly* gave it 91, calling the first half hour so overflowing with anarchic invention that it holds up against *Duck Soup* and *Monty Python and the Holy Grail*, while noting that the last 48 minutes rely heavily on gross-out makeup and effects.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/freaked/critic-reviews/) *The New York Times* described it as having "the candy-colored glow of a goofy psychedelic comic book and the irreverent sensibility of Mad Magazine."[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/freaked/critic-reviews/)
## Cult status and restoration
The film found its audience after theaters, on VHS and late-night cable, and developed a devoted following for its anarchic humor and practical effects.[11](https://enzian.org/film/freaked) DVD and Blu-ray releases went out of print and became collector's items, and for a period the film was unavailable on digital streaming platforms.[6](https://www.fangoria.com/umbrella-entertainment-freaked-collectors-edition/) In 2025, Drafthouse Films and Umbrella Entertainment released a new 4K restoration with [Dolby Vision](https://www.edgepedia.org/dolby-vision), restored from the original negative, on digital and in a three-disc collector's edition that includes a previously unreleased workprint and a rehearsal version of the film.[12](https://drafthousefilms.squarespace.com/freaked) • [8](https://bloody-disgusting.com/exclusives/3911706/alex-winter-talks-freaked-4k-restoration-watch-an-exclusive-clip-now/) Winter's stated lesson from the experience was budgetary: "Don't try making something punk rock for ten, 12, 15 million dollars. You will not get a return."[10](https://filmmakermagazine.com/132340-interview-alex-winter-bill-corso-freaked/)
## References
1. [Freaked (1993), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/59530-FREAKED)
2. [Freaked, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/457145/freaked)
3. [Freaked kijken, FilmRadar](https://filmradar.nl/waar-kijken/freaked-1993)
4. [Freaked, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/freaked)
5. [Freaked critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/freaked/critic-reviews/)
6. [Alex Winter's FREAKED Unleashed Onto 4K UHD With Stacked Collector's Edition, Fangoria](https://www.fangoria.com/umbrella-entertainment-freaked-collectors-edition/)
7. [Freaked, American Humane Detailed Animal Action Report](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/freaked/)
8. [Alex Winter Talks 'Freaked' 4K Restoration, Bloody Disgusting](https://bloody-disgusting.com/exclusives/3911706/alex-winter-talks-freaked-4k-restoration-watch-an-exclusive-clip-now/)
9. [Freaked, Alex Winter official site](https://alexwinter.com/projects/freaked/)
10. [Interview: Alex Winter and Tom Stern on Freaked, Filmmaker Magazine](https://filmmakermagazine.com/132340-interview-alex-winter-bill-corso-freaked/)
11. [Freaked (4K Restoration), Enzian Theater](https://enzian.org/film/freaked)
12. [FREAKED, Drafthouse Films](https://drafthousefilms.squarespace.com/freaked)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 1990 to 1994 › Titles symbols to J*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license