This year’s Toronto International Film Festival is packed full of high-profile, big-name talent. As we’ve covered multiple times since the lineup’s announcement, TIFF (and Venice Film Festival, for that matter) have quickly become the prime festivals in the yearly circuit. But all that being said, due to the sheer amount of star power, there are some TIFF films that will easily fall under the radar. One of those films is “Freaks.”
In the new teaser for the upcoming TIFF selection, there’s not much plot given. Instead, the “Freaks” teaser gives us a barrage of haunting images, with no real connective tissue. But boy is that montage of images arresting, featuring a little girl crying blood, uncontrollable fires, cops pointing guns, and perhaps most eye-catching of all, a young girl standing in the middle of the road about to get hit by a car.
“Freaks” comes from filmmakers Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein. The duo met as contestants on the Steven Spielberg reality show “On the Lot” and became quick friends and colleagues. “Freaks” is their first feature film, but the duo is currently also working on the live-action “Kim Possible.”
The cast includes Emile Hirshe, Bruce Dern, Grace Park, Amanda Crew, and newcomer, Lexy Kolker. And judging by the teaser, the young Kolker might be doing a lot of the heavy lifting in her first major acting gig.
As mentioned, “Freaks” debuts at this year’s TIFF, which begins on September 6.
Here’s the synopsis:
In this inventive and powerful science-fiction thriller, a disturbed father (Emile Hirsch) locks his 7-year-old daughter (Lexy Kolker) in a house, warning her of grave dangers outside. But the mysterious Mr. Snowcone (Bruce Dern) convinces the girl to escape and join him on a quest for family, freedom, and revenge.