“I liken it to Airplane meets Evil Dead 2.”
That’s how Alex Winter describes Freaked, the delirious 1993 cult classic he co-directed with Tom Stern about a vain actor, his best friend, and an activist who end up at a mutant freak farm run by a mad scientist.
“Freaked is what happens when you write a low-budget, gross-out, rock-and-roll horror movie starring the Butthole Surfers that no one will finance but you find a major movie studio willing to pay big bucks to retool it as a PG-13 ‘mainstream’ comedy,” Winter tells Bloody Disgusting.
The long out-of-print film is finally available again — on Digital from Drafthouse Films and on 4K UHD via Umbrella Entertainment — newly restored in 4K with Dolby Vision. Watch an exclusive clip:
“It took me literal years to get the film out of Disney, and ultimately, they were great about it and very supportive. And working with Giant and Drafthouse, with whom I’ve released several other movies of mine, is always a dream,” Winter explains.
“Disney opened the vaults, so we got back to the original negative. It was thrilling,” he continues. “The team at Drafthouse painstakingly created a fully restored print and new color correct and remix.”
In addition to the theatrical cut, the three-disc set includes a previously unreleased workprint, a rehearsal version of the film, and a plethora of new extras.
“Umbrella has created so much good stuff; interviews with many of the co-creators and cast, a comprehensive book, it’s a treasure trove,” Winter enthuses.
With the Freaked back in the world, I asked Winter if he’d consider making a sequel. “Fuck no,” he asserts.
Winters stars in Freaked alongside Michael Stoyanov, Megan Ward, Randy Quaid, and William Sadler, with appearances from Keanu Reeves, Mr. T, Brooke Sheilds, John Hawkes, and Bobcat Goldthwait.
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