The first trailer for Freaky Tales has dropped, and it’s just as chaotic as you’d expect from a film that throws Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, and Normani into a neon-lit, blood-soaked version of 1987 Oakland. Directed by Captain Marvel duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the film stitches together four interconnected stories packed with crime, music, punks, and a fair amount of flying fists. Take a look above.
The trailer wastes no time setting the period and tone. We have the year: 1987. Pascal’s character, Clint, opens with a voiceover: “The underdog believes he can do the impossible: defeat the bully, sell enough mixtapes to get out of the hood. I can say with certainty, this underdog has seen his last day.” From there, things spiral into a blur of shootouts, brawls, and neon-drenched mayhem. Ellis plays real-life NBA player Sleepy Floyd, who somehow finds himself in the crosshairs, while Normani’s musician character is caught up in her own high-stakes drama.
Alongside them, the late Angus Cloud appears in one of his final roles, and a cast that includes Dominique Thorne, Jack Champion, Ji-young Yoo, and hip-hop star Too $hort, who’s also onboard as an executive producer.
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If the trailer is any indication, Freaky Tales isn’t just dipping its toes into different genres—it’s mashing them all together with reckless abandon. Action and comedy look to take centre stage, but the trailer hints at horror influences lurking beneath, with glimpses of some giddily gory set pieces. The film also plays with aspect ratios and visual formats, including a warped, VHS-era aesthetic.
Boden and Fleck, known for balancing indie dramas (Half Nelson, Mississippi Grind) with larger-budget spectacle (Captain Marvel, episodes of Master of the Air), seem to be cutting loose here, turning Freaky Tales into a high-energy love letter to ’80s pulp storytelling. Early reviews were mixed-to-positive out of the film’s Sundance premiere in January, with some critiquing it as a messy pastiche that lacks cohesion, and others commending it as a wild and funny ride. We’ll see.
Freaky Tales is set for release in US cinemas on April 4th.
