Oakland 1987 is the setting for four tales that traverse the time period’s sub-cultures and film genres in the wacky sci-fi anothology Freaky Tales. Named after the song by legendary rapper Too $hort, whom shares both a role and producing credit, this goofy exploration of 80s music and pop culture doesn’t make much sense, but its gory frenetic energy and retro style are enough to make up for it.
The four tales jump from punk rock gang wars, to rap battles, to revenge flicks, and kung-fu exploitation. Characters from each segment loosely crossover through each story and there is an attempt at an overall narrative about a mysterious green electricity that seems to randomly empower the characters. It’s all connected to a head-scratching aspect of the larger arc that references some type of X-Men, Charles Xavier, School for the Gifted type group that’s being formed with these characters? It never really pays off and seems like unnecessary setup for more tales, but taken as individual stories, Freaky Tales does take its creative freedom to many entertaining places.
The first story, The Gilman Strikes Back, plays like Scott Pilgrim meets The Warriors in a punk rock setting with Nazi villains. Lucid (Jack Champion) and Tina (Ji-young Yoo) join the hate free Gilman Street crew to rock out to their favorite bands when skinheads come knocking to ruin the diverse group’s good time. The fights are bloody good and the artistic choices of Tina’s scribble drawings coming to animated life provide a slick visual opening to the Freaky Tale‘s festivities. And did I mention there’s Nazi killin’?
Don’t Fight the Feeling features bay area rapper Symba playing 80s era Too $hort and centers around ice cream shop nobodies Barbie (Dominique Thorne) and Entice (Normani), aka rap group Danger Zone, recruited to a rap battle with the rap legend himself. Aside from the music, this one is the weakest of the four tales with the main highlight being the skin-crawling introduction of Ben Mendelsohn’s (Rogue One) “The Guy”, who serves as a boss villain for the remainder of Freaky Tales.
The penultimate tale, Born to Mack, brings even more star power as Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us) enters the fray as violent debt-collector Clint. Pascal commands the screen as his character’s tragic past unfolds and he wrestles with how to channel his anger while seeking revenge. Having Pascal and Mendelsohn working together is terrific with both actors energies lighting up this segment anytime they are unleashed. Born to Mack also includes an unexpected and hilarious cameo from none other than Tom Hanks as a snooty video rental store manager that steals the show.
By far the most out there and wacky tale is the finisher: The Legend of Sleepy Floyd. Partially based on the real life night of the 1987 NBA Western Conference Semifinals that saw Golden State Warriors’ point guard “Sleepy” Floyd (Jay Ellis) set the the record for most points in a single playoff game quarter against the Lakers, a record that still stands today. Floyd’s night goes in completely fictional direction after the game when a coordinated heist ends in tragedy for his family. The baller goes full Kill Bill Beatrix Kiddo on those responsible, complete with sharp objects and a yellow jumpsuit/basketball warm-up hybrid costume. It’s a really cool visual that’s pops extra hard thanks to Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. This bloody rampage leads to an enteratining final scene allowing Mendelsohn to chew the scenery one last time after Floyd lays waste to “The Guy”s miserable crew.
Freaky Tales owns its 80s retro flare, highlighted by it’s diverse and banging soundtrack to the ferocious carnage. The execution is weird and messy at times and much of the attempts at an overall “Freaky” story arc involving a green energy force are non-sensical, but there’s an irresistible swagger to the individual tales alongside some surprisingly good humor that makes traveling back to 80s era Oakland worth a trip.
Score: 3.5 out of 5