Director/Screenplay/Creature Effects & Prosthetics Designer/Stop-Motion Animation Design – Steven Kostanski, Producers – Steven Kostanski, Melanie Murray & Pasha Patriki, Photography – Pierce Derks, Music – Blitz/Berlin, Special Effects Supervisor – Michael Hamilton, Creature Effects/Prosthetics – Action Pants FX Inc., Production Design – Joshua Turpin. Production Company – Hangar 18 Media.
Cast
Conor Sweeney (Conor Sweeney), Adam Brooks (Mr. Buechler/Boink Bardo), Kristy Wordsworth (Kristina), Matthew Kennedy (Frankie Freako), Meredith Sweeney (Dottie Dunko), Rich Evans (Freaklord President Munch)
Plot
Both at work and at home with his wife, Conor Sweeney comes to the realisation that he leads a dull life and is square. His wife Kristina goes away for a few days and on inspiration Conor calls a 1-900 number that advertises having the goblin Frankie Freako come to spice up your life. Conor then finds his home and life are overrun by a trio of manic goblins.
Steven Kostanski is a makeup effects artist and has worked on a number of Canadian-shot films such as Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), Silent Hill: Revelation (2012), Pacific Rim (2013) and Crimson Peak (2015), among others. Kostanski made his directorial debut along with five other directors as part of the Astron-6 collective with the Troma film Father’s Day (2011). Kostanski then solo directed Manborg (2011), a low-budget gem that homaged the 1980s science-fiction film. He followed this with the W is for Wish segment of ABCs of Death 2 (2014); co-directed the H.P. Lovecraft homage The Void (2016); and solo directed Leprechaun Returns (2018), a continuation of the popular 1990s series; P.G. Psycho Goreman (2020), another 80s homage wherein kids befriend an intergalactic dark lord, and The Veggie Masher episode of V/H/S/94 (2021).
With Frankie Freako, Steven Kostanski reunites with several other members of Astron-6 including his lead actor Conor Sweeney (who plays a character also named Conor Sweeney); Adam Brooks who plays Conor’s boss; and Matthew Kennedy who plays the voice of Frankie Freako. The only missing member of the collective is Jeremy Gillespie.
Steven Kostanski loves homaging 1980s genre cinema. With Frankie Freako, he makes essentially a Gremlins (1984) copy from the late 1980s/early 90s. There is the same plot running through both Frankie Freako and Gremlins of a straight-laced guy who unwittingly unleashes small creatures that causes chaos in his home. Although what Frankie Freako feels more like is one of the low-budget copies that came out in the aftermath of Gremlins such as Munchies (1987) or Hobgoblins (1988).
The goblin Frankie Freako (Matthew Kennedy)Conor Sweeney with his house overrun by goblins. With Frankie Freako to the right.
Steven Kostanski aims for a very 80s feel to the film with simple line computer graphics, dot matrix printers, ghetto blasters, Conor Sweeney outfitted in stonewash jeans, and era-appropriate tvs and remotes – Conor Sweeney’s wife Kristy Wordsworth even compares him to Gary Busey (where such is meant to be a compliment). The 1800 number (this is made in Canada so it is a 1-900 number) that causes a manifestation of diabolic chaos seems to have been borrowed from the Robert Englund-directed 976-Evil (1988).
Kosnstanski has conducted the goblin effects using puppets. The film only consists of assorted scenes with the goblins causing chaos. There is never much more in the way of plot than that. The goblin puppets are variably effective but mostly look rubbery and inexpressive. And this unfortunately ends up dragging Frankie Freako and make it look exactly like a film caught back in the late 80s period of the Gremlins knockoff. Compare the cheap-looking effects here with the more sophisticated ones in the comparable The Happytime Murders (2018). Audiences have evolved beyond these kinds of effects and while Frankie Freako seems to be fulfilling some kind of homage thing for Kostanski, most audience are likely to be asking why we don’t end up with more technically expressive characters.
Steven Kostanski has made some fine films – Manborg is one of the greatest B movie homages ever and The Void is a fantastic H.P. Lovecraft homage. I wanted to like Frankie Freako because of Kostanski but in truth the film was a struggle. It is awkward looking puppets engaged in some mayhem. None of it is very funny – I had hoped the film might have a gonzo sense of humour that won over the chintziness of the rest of it, but it is a singularly unfunny viewing experience. I tried hard to like it, but it was a losing battle.
