Freaky Tales bears a title that can’t help but remind one of a horror anthology like Tales From the Hood, something that is likely reinforced by setting the movie in Oakland in the late 1980s. The use of real characters here is interesting, though, as if the film is trying to create a stranger alternate history of the era. Jay Ellis portrays real NBA player and 1987 All Star Eric Augustus “Sleepy” Floyd, who is amusingly described in the trailer as possessing “a vault full of ancient Asian artifacts.” And wouldn’t you know it, that seems to be exactly what Pascal’s thief character is being tasked with stealing. Pascal’s face is obviously doing the heavy lifting here in terms of generating interest for Freaky Tales, but he’s just one of four presumed protagonists, given the official logline: “The film depicts four interconnected stories taking place at real locations and during real historical events in 1987 Oakland, California.”
Regardless, the trailer below looks like pure chaos in the best sort of way, full of wanton partying in the underground club scene, a video store that doubles as a secret hideout, and Ellis wielding a katana as he cleaves through a group of home invaders. There are major shades of something in the vein of The Warriors as street gangs do battle, and plenty of blood–a bit unexpected, perhaps, given that Freaky Tales is coming from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, best known as the writer-directors of 2019’s Captain Marvel. Maybe they just like setting scenes of their films in video rental stores?
Check out the full Freaky Tales trailer below. The film is set to hit U.S. theaters on April 4, 2025.
