Panic Fest 25' Freaky Tales Is a Mixtape-Style Anthology That Honors Oakland’s Grit, Culture, and Chaos - Review
- Travis Brown
- Mar 30
- 2 min read
Some films hit you in the gut. Others hit you in the memory. Freaky Tales does both—and then some.
From directors Anna Boden and Oakland native Ryan Fleck, Freaky Tales is a love letter to a generation raised on syndicated TV, punk and hip-hop tapes, late-night horror blocks, and the raw, uncompromising grit of Bay Area culture. Set on the night of one of the most iconic NBA performances of all time—when Sleepy Floyd dropped 51 on the Lakers—Freaky Tales spins four intersecting stories that blend coming-of-age rebellion, street justice, political defiance, and cultural survival into a mixtape-style anthology with soul.
Yes, a mixtape. Because that’s what this film is: not just a nod to Too $hort and Bay legend, but a reminder of when mixtapes were a form of storytelling—a first version of social media. You didn’t just hand someone a tape. You handed them a piece of yourself.
From the jump, Boden and Fleck make it clear this isn’t Captain Marvel territory. It’s raw, scrappy, loud, and weird as hell—in the best way. It’s Pulp Fiction by way of Hollywood Shuffle. It’s The Last Dragon meets I’m Gonna Git You Sucka with animation, attitude, and a deep respect for West Coast hip-hop and underground punk scenes.
What makes Freaky Tales so effective is how personal it feels—even for viewers outside of Oakland. For Black and brown kids who grew up on the margins—Midwest, South, East or West—this film is a time machine. The fashion, the music, the VHS glow, the politics, the street legends. It’s all there. And it doesn’t just feel nostalgic. It feels lived-in.
The performances are stacked. Pedro Pascal steps outside the prestige zone for something grungier. Angus Cloud (in a beautiful, heartbreaking appearance), Jay Ellis, Normani, Dominique Thorne, and a scene-stealing turn from Too $hort himself round out a cast that’s clearly having a blast. And the real heart of the film comes from the youth—characters who represent the next generation inheriting the chaos, style, and fire of the old heads before them.
The film has guts. It blends animation seamlessly, breaks tone with confidence, and isn’t afraid to be messy, musical, and offbeat. And while some might not vibe with the blend of hip-hop, punk, and socio-political commentary, that’s also the point. If Freaky Tales isn’t for you, it was probably made for someone like your kids.
Boden and Fleck don’t just show love to Oakland—they live in it. This isn’t some outsider’s version of the Bay. It’s built from memory, mixtapes, and the swagger of a city that raised them. Freaky Tales doesn’t try to imitate—it amplifies.
Because at its core, Freaky Tales is about the fact that on any night—whether you’re a kid with a Walkman or a ballplayer with nothing to lose—you can become Superman.
And sometimes, that’s all the movie needs to be.
4/5
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Screenwriter: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Producer: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Poppy Hanks
Executive Producer: James Lopez, Charles D. King, David F. Weintraub, Too $hort
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Jay Ellis, Ben Mendelsohn
Cinematographer: Jac Fitzgerald
Editor: Robert Komatsu
Production Design: Patti Podesta
Music: Raphael Saadiq
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