There are few films that could be called ‘representative’ but FREAKS could be labelled consistently with this. From its censorship, screen test revision, disability representation, imagery and much more. Criterion again have shown their savvy in understanding this. They also seem to get that the film doesn’t sit alone in the broader work of Tod Browning. His earlier carnival shockers are in his own pre code relationship with Hollywood and its with the wider world. Sexual, subversive and strange in equal measure.

Now you know what FREAKS holds. The tale of a circus peopled with human ‘freaks’. They live on the edge, gawped on and screamed at. Then one day love enters the scene. A human woman who is a ‘normal’ falls for the smallest and most compassionate of the group. But she has eyes on something more than just his friendly charm. Unlucky for her, he has many friends and they have many ways to stop her in those hands of horrific beauty.

Criterion have hit it out of the park here. The 2K restoration has been in my eyeline for some time. That is not only for FREAKS (which gleams on the screen) but on THE UNKNOWN (finally those on camera trickery scenes look stunning). All three films have been saved from soft focus, standard def grit and the horror of light leak. Now to note, there is a lot of old extras here. A lot. The old disc is here in its entirety. New stuff to look out for though is in abundance.  Megan Abbott historical tour delights with detail. Maybe lacking a comprehensive take on Browning after Code came in, for context, but its excellent. Kristen Lopez podcast asks questions of those who label FREAKS in a moronic way. Its rather quick and contained but its made me interested in digging deeper.

TWO-BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 2K digital restoration of Freaks, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New 2K digital reconstruction and restoration of The Unknown by the George Eastman Museum, with a new score by composer Philip Carli
• New 2K digital restoration of The Mystic, with a new score by composer Dean Hurley
• Audio commentaries on Freaks and The Unknown and an introduction to The Mystic by film scholar David J. Skal
• New interview with author Megan Abbott about director Tod Browning and pre-Code horror
• Archival documentary on Freaks
• Episode from 2019 of critic Kristen Lopez’s podcast Ticklish Business about disability representation in Freaks
• Reading by Skal of “Spurs,” the short story by Tod Robbins on which Freaks is based
• Prologue to Freaks, which was added to the film in 1947
• Program on the alternate endings to Freaks
• Video gallery of portraits from Freaks
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by film critic Farran Smith Nehme