Welcome back to Left of The Dial: Remastered! Today, I’m going to introduce you to a Halloween cult classic (or at least that’s what it should be) movie called Live Freaky! Die Freaky! This little film is a stop-motion musical directed by John Roecker, who you might know as the man behind the documentary “Heart Like a Hand Grenade” about the making of American Idiot. The story is a loose retelling of the Manson family’s string of murders, viewed from the family’s perspective. As such, it provides a different angle to the family’s story, but don’t let that give you the impression that this will be a nuanced flick. Oh no, Live Freaky! throws any subtlety out the window in favor of delivering the most tasteless and simultaneously hilarious story the dark side of one’s mind could imagine.
Perhaps more interesting than the film itself is the people behind it. Along with Roecker, behind the production is Tim Armstrong, the guitarist and vocalist behind Operation Ivy and Rancid. The rest of the voice cast is a who’s-who of East Bay musicians. The four main members of Green Day are all present, with Billie Joe Armstrong voicing Charlie. Fun fact, Live Freaky! is technically his first starring role in a film, since Ordinary World wouldn’t debut for another 11 years afterward. Other recognizable people include Travis Barker, the Madden brothers Benji and Joel, Matt Freeman, Lars Fredrickson, and much more!
As with my other movie reviews, this is a spoiler-free look, so you don’t have to worry if you haven’t seen it yet. If you’d like to watch along though, you can find some uploads of the full movie on YouTube with a quick search. I’d also like to throw out a content warning before we go in. The movie features a lot of explicit sex and violence, which is played off for dark laughs, but could definitely rub some people the wrong way. If you’re not into that, then you might be better off skipping this review. Don’t worry, I’ll have something way tamer to review next time!
So what the hell is awaiting us? Let’s fire up our video players and find out!
The movie is bookended with a story taking place 1,000 years after the Manson Murders. This future is post-apocalyptic, with mankind being reduced to wild nomads. One particular man (played by Jason Schmidt) comes across a copy of Helter Skelter during one of his hunts and begins to read.
This is where the animation comes into play. Susan “Hadie” Hatkins (voiced by Theo Kogan) is in prison being interrogated by the cops about the Family’s crimes. As a quick mention, most of the real people involved in the Manson Murders have had their names slightly altered in the movie, but it’s still obvious who they’re supposed to represent. Anyways, Hadie flashes back to the day she met Charlie Hanson (voiced by Billie Joe Armstrong.) Depressed and lonely, she takes some LSD and witnesses a bad trip. At the height of the trip, Charlie bursts into her room, declaring that he wants to save her. And how does he save her? Well, they perform the horizontal Monster Mash, of course!
Instead of describing this sex scene in detail, let’s take a break and absorb the quirks of the film. First off, the writing is clever in the way it highlights the Hanson family’s perspective on the world. The cops in the first scene, for example, use choice language to suggest that the Hansons’ motivation was to break from the status quo and challenge the perceived flaws of the moral majority. Later on, the other ‘antagonists’ of the story have their personalities twisted to make the Hansons seem like better people by comparison.
The other thing is the voice acting. It’s surprisingly good considering most of the cast are lacking in acting experience. I was expecting the acting from the people I recognize to be distracting; I’d only hear Billie Joe trying to be Charles Manson, but I was proven wrong! He in particular does an excellent job of altering his voice so he embodies Charlie’s spirit. If I hadn’t gone in knowing it was him, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.
Let’s get back to the story. After Hadie’s “rescue,” she joins the family and meets her new brothers and sisters. At a diner, Charlie explains their plans to move to the desert in Death Valley so they can create their own private paradise. While I was complimenting the cleverness of the writing earlier, this scene highlights an occasional problem: the dialogue drags for too long. Characters tend to go on long rants that don’t go anywhere, and it can get dull quickly. I’d say if you’re watching along, just have the fast-forward button on standby for these scenes. Believe me, you’re not missing much by doing so.
Anyways, the next scene depicts Hadie and her “sisters” dumpster diving, where they meet Sharon Hate (voiced by Kelly Osbourne) and her friend Hay (voiced by Davey Havok). Sharon and Hay are characterized by their haughty attitudes and hatred of nature and the environment. Hay is something of a product of the time period the movie was made in because he embodies every stereotype of gay men you can imagine. While I can give it somewhat of a pass since everyone in the movie has exaggerated personalities, definitely take it with a grain of salt.
After the rude encounter with Sharon and Hay, plus a scolding from the grocery store owner Mr. Ha Bianca, the Hansons find their whole lifestyle is at stake. Sharon plans to film a movie in their desert, and the Ha Biancas are planning to expand their grocery store chain into the same desert. By consulting his “four prophets from Liverpool,” a Beatles record, Charlie concludes that the only solution to their crisis is to murder Sharon and the Ha Biancas. From here, we’d probably be getting into spoiler territory, so I’ll end the plot summary there.
Let’s cover the animation and musical segments before I get to my final thoughts. I studied animation as part of my illustration degree, so I take the subject quite seriously in my critiques. Clearly, the staff behind the movie didn’t have the budget for something mind-blowing, but the animation is still endearing in a spooky and silly way. The dolls are well-constructed and stylized to set them apart from other contemporary stop-motion projects, but they’re lacking in dynamic movement and facial expressions. The voice acting and songs are able to serve as a crutch for the animation to fall on, but that can only go so far. I think the stiffness of the dolls along with their gothic appearances enhances the scariness of the film, which is of course juxtaposed with the absurdity of the comedic aspects. Stop-motion is such a great animation medium for horror, so I’m glad that was the style chosen for Live Freaky!
The soundtrack is where the cast’s musicianship shines. Most of the songs have this retro novelty quality to them, like “Mechanical Man,” “Strangle a Tree,” and “Creepy Crawl.” Others have strong emotional cores, like “Charlie?” and “All the Good Things (We Could Have Done).” My favorites would be “Mechanical Man” for Billie Joe’s vocal performance, “Strangle a Tree” for the silly lyrics and Kelly Osbourne’s performance, and “All the Good Things” for the beautiful arrangement and Theo Kogan’s vocals. My least favorite would have to be “Creepy Crawl” because it doesn’t weave naturally into the story like the other songs do; it brings the story to a halt and throws off the pacing a little. On top of that, it’s just not as unique and fun as the other songs.
So what are my final thoughts? Live Freaky! Die Freaky! is an underrated cult classic of a Halloween flick for sick people like me and you. It comes across to me as a passion project that a group of friends made for their own amusement, which explains the cheap animation and dark sense of humor. It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you’re willing, indulge in it.
Feature Photo designed by Becca Fauteux