Freaks

Freaks is a disturbing pre-code film that caused much controversy in its day. It is available as a DVD. It's painful to watch. It shows that the ugliness inside of people can't be seen on the outside. Sometimes the things that look best to us are actually the very worst.

Moria calls it "one of the genuine classics of the horror film". 1000 Misspent Hours says, "The bitter irony of it all is that this movie is now considered a classic even by the intellectual descendants of the people who so stridently condemned it when it was released." The New York Times closes with a warning: "The only thing that can be said definitely for "Freaks" is that it is not for children. Bad dreams lie that way." Slant Magazine has a review. Bright Lights Film Journal says, "It received so much bad press and created such ill will that MGM was forced to withdraw it from circulation, suffering a loss of $164,000."

9/20/2007: 1001 Flicks has a review.
8/1/2008: BoingBoing links to the film online at the Internet Archive.
5/21/2009: The Vault of Horror:

Here is a film ahead of its time, presenting horror not in the form of supernatural monsters, but lurking in the hearts of regular human beings.

5/25/2010: 366 Weird Movies says,

That it is a masterful vision and labor of love from the most authentically unusual artist to emerge from the Hollywood system is of little doubt. If one approaches Freaks expecting it to be in line with the “classic horror” mold films of the 1930’s, however, then one is apt to be disappointed....Freaks is an unsettling vision and that is the only description one can give to it, genres be damned.