Frankie Freako(2024)(Review) - Gruesome Gazette

As December quickly dissipates beneath our feet, I’m making a valiant effort to catch up on all the 2024 releases that have come out in anticipation of our upcoming Top 10 of the year lists (by the way – let us know what ones are your absolute must-sees). Before Halloween, when the rest of the month was an absolute onslaught of releases, director Steven Kostanski (PG: Psycho Goreman, The Void, Leprechaun Returns) released a brand new film which received tons of praise from its run in the festival circuits. After giving us very small details minus a few stills, we were finally able to see his new live-action puppet film, ‘Frankie Freako’.

Set in the 1980s, we enjoy a day in the life of Conor – a workaholic yuppie who is defined (even by himself) as being a complete square. He has boring interests, innocently refuses to sleep with his wife, and his idea of fun is drinking non-caffeinated soda and watching the news. When he is finally called out by his wife and boss for being so uptight, he wants to prove he can be fun. How does he do this? Well, by taking a chance one weekend when his wife leaves the house and calling a 1-900 party number that connects with you “Frankie Freako, the Party Goblin.”
Frankie arrives via intergalactic travel with his two best friends, Dottie Dunko, and Crunch. They are highly animated, aggressively excited, and ready to party no matter what you say. When Conor wakes up the following morning with no memory of what happened but discovering his house has basically been destroyed, he calls his boss for help as he must confront and make peace with the party crew.

This movie is a complete blast. Frankie and his friends are very meticulous puppets (like ‘Team America: World Police’ quality), which really brings back the nostalgia of ‘Gremlins’ or ‘Ghoulies’ but with the contemporary flourish of ‘PG: Psycho Goreman’. It’s silly, gets randomly violent, and is beautifully crafted. The puppets are silly and marketable, Conor is actually a fun character to hang out with, and the film has a halfway point where the puppetry and set design really gets elevated out of nowhere.

This movie is literally a party-to-go. It’s nostalgic and fun without really diving too heavily into the horror aspects that infiltrate the film at many points. It plays out like a PG-13 family friendly movie that is silly enough for kids but comfortable and familiar enough for the parents.

My advice: pick up the phone and make this call – and prepare yourself for one of the most fun parties of the year.

4/5
“Frankie Freako” is available to stream on VOD services, and available to purchase on Bluray/DVD via Shout! Studios

‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra