If you had told me that I had rented the VHS for Frankie Freako from Phar-Mor Drugs’ video section back in the early ’90s, I wouldn’t debate you. I rented a lot of weird stuff with their 3 tapes for $1.50 deal. This is how I found Ghoulies, Puppet Master and Garbage Pail Kids because I wasn’t going to pay Blockbuster’s $2.49 a night to see them. So maybe I did rent Frankie Freako one those nights. Except I didn’t since Frankie Freako was released during the summer.
Conor (The Editor‘s Conor Sweeney) is a yuppie who thinks he’s the hottest thing at his company. He swears his upcoming presentation will be the hottest thing since he used different ink colors on the printout. Conor’s boss Mr Buechler (The Editor‘s Adam Brooks) is disappointed down to his ponytail. He wants Conor to spice it up or risk not getting promoted. Conor feels he’s an extra spicy kind of guy. His wife Kristina (The Spy Who Never Dies‘ Kristy Wordsworth) is an artist, but doesn’t get much inspiration from him. We get to witness one of the greatest romantic dud scenes in cinema history when Kristina surprises him in the bedroom. This leads to Conor watching his favorite TV show Antique Connoisseurs. He sees a strange ad for a 1-900 number from a punk red demon character called Frankie Freako. This weird creatures promises a party and a freakout if you call. Things get wild without Conor dialing the number as he’s haunted by Frankie. During his dry presentation, he freaks out when he sees Frankie Franko in the room. People wake up at this portion of the talk. This leads to his boss reconsidering his promotion although he needs a favor over the weekend involving shredding work-related papers. He has a touch of free time since his wife has gone off until Sunday. While home alone, the advertising gets to him, and Conor dials the number. The wind kicks up in the kitchen while he’s still on the phone with the strange voice. Conor wakes up hours later to discover that Frankie Freako (voiced by Matthew Kennedy) and his two pals Dottie Dunko and Street Freako have trashed the place and don’t plan on leaving his home. Conor is in for the weekend of his life.
The people in charge of production design and wardrobe make this film feel so authentic to the time. The best prop is the couple’s headboard having a built-in cassette player stereo. The puppets for Frankie and his pals are so good that they fit in with the genre. Their attitude as they torment Conor is era appropriate. I was waiting for Gilbert Gottfried to interrupt the movie to announce we’re watching Up All Night on USA network. The story is goofy like you’d expect from this era. The interplay between Frankie and Conor doesn’t get too modern. Both man and puppet feel like they were captured 30 years ago. I adore this film and couldn’t stop laughing as the weirdness grew on the screen. Director Steven Kostanski and his crew captured what made these little monster movies fun and exceled. Frankie Freako is the kind of movie I wanted to see when I rented Ghoulies, Puppet Master or Garbage Pail Kids.
If you want a message from Frankie Freako – Text FREAKO to 877-731-7173.
The Video is 1.90:1 anamorphic. They really made this film look like it was shot and processed in the late ’80s. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 mixes. The audio keeps Frankie’s voice in party mode. The movie is subtitled.
Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Steven Kostanski, actor Conor Sweeney, and cinematographer Pierce Derks. They admit that during the pandemic, they got hooked on watching the strange puppet horror movies from the ’80s and ’90s. They were also watching the old 900 ads online and one had a dial a monster.
Fasten Your Freakbelts: Behind the Scenes of Frankie Freako (10:25) shows us how the Frankie and his friends came so alive. They show us how the puppets came together in the creature workshop. They built a two-story house on the soundstage.
Conor & Frankie: A Conversation Between Actors (8:54) reunited the human and the puppet after production. Frankie got the acting bug while doing My Fair Lady at high school.
Frankie Freako’s Funtime Phone Commerical (0:47) will have you dialing that special number.
Antique Connoisseurs Segments (2:24) has the amazing show that isn’t the Antique Roadshow.
Trailer (2:22) sounds like a late ’80s TV movie trailer.
Scream Factory presents Frankie Freako. Directed by Steven Kostanski. Screenplay by Steven Kostanski. Starring Conor Sweeney, Kristy Wordsworth, Adam Brooks, Rob Schrab, Matthew Kennedy, Meredith Sweeney, Rich Evans and Mike Kostanski. Running Time: 83 minutes. Rating: Not Rated. Release Date: November 5, 2024.
