Reviews
‘Frankie Freako’ Review: Should You Watch? Shabadoo-it!
Astron-6 is one of the most fascinating and confusing genre production companies out there today. When you look at production studios like A24 and Neon, you see a growing group of films that share many visual and thematic elements. These distro-turned-production studios put tons of effort into creating certain motifs that you expect when you see one of their films. On the other hand, you have Astron-6, who basically says eff it and makes the films they want to make. The Editor is a bloody, riotous Giallo homage, The Void was gloopy, sinewy, Lovecraftian horror, and PG: Psycho Goreman was a fun and goofy creature feature/creature invasion flick. They rarely miss, AND they never let you know their next steps.
Frankie Freako: A Wild Ride Through Horror Comedy
Frankie Freako follows Conor (Conor Sweeney), a seemingly aimless, by-the-books, plain man. Conor goes with the flow and rarely attempts to step outside his norm. His wife, Kristina (Kristy Wordsworth), is at the end of her rope with how bland he is. His boss, Mr. Buechler (Adam Brooks), attempts to manipulate the personality-less putty that is Conor to do his bidding. Everything changes for Conor when he sees a TV ad for Frankie Freako’s (Matthew Kennedy) hotline. Frankie is a small, red party creature ready to give you a good time! Will you call?
Like last week’s Fréwaka, writer/director Steven Kostanski’s latest feature was a film I was supposed to catch at a festival last year. Time constraints made that fall through, and the film fell off my radar. Thankfully, Shudder acquired it, and I figured I should finally check it out! I decided to talk about Astron-6 as a production company at the top for two reasons. One, Astron-6, deserves heaps of respect for their body of work. Second, that exact reason was why I almost got frustrated with the film.
Why Astron-6’s Low-Budget Creativity Shines in Frankie Freako
Astron-6 has always, with only a minor amount in The Void, implemented a form of comedy into their films. That’s expected. But since The Void, they’ve heavily leaned into creature-focused plots. For someone who isn’t super keen on horror comedies, PG worked well for me. Frankie Freako is a creature-focused horror comedy similar to Ghoulies, Gremlins, and Puppet Master. And I don’t like those films. Part of me started to get frustrated that I was watching a film akin to others I don’t like. As the film went on, I was charmed by this original take on a subgenre that never worked for me. Frankie Freako took what didn’t work for those films, made it their own, and made it work way too well.
I recently watched a movie called Sharks of the Corn and was frustrated by the lack of care for the final product. Part of me thinks many filmmakers don’t understand that if they work with the audience, the audience will forgive certain shortcomings. There are certain aspects of film that an audience member is likely to ignore based on budgetary limitations. You can work wonders with a microbudget, and you can work wonders with a low budget. Frankie Freako uses its low budget to its advantage, whereas a film like Sharks of the Corn use it as a crutch.
Freakworld’s Miniature Magic: A Testament to Kostanski’s Craft
There’s a scene where Conor and the Freakos are transported to Freakworld to deal with the film’s big baddie (hilariously voice acted by RLM’s Dick the birthday boy Rich Evans). Rather than putting Connor and the puppets in front of a green screen, Kostanski and team crafted an elaborate set of miniatures to set up the to and fro to Freaklord President Munch’s (Rich Evans) lair. In total, they’re probably in the miniature section of Freakworld for a minute. A lesser filmmaker would have used that moment as a vehicle to get the characters to the antagonist, while Kostanski uses it as a world builder. It’s small moments like that that make me angry when films like Sharks of the Corn consistently give the audience the middle finger.
Frankie Freako is a testament to creativity. Astron-6 is a light at the end of the tunnel. In a media format rife with AI and ‘creatives’ who are only looking for a buck, films like Frankie Freako should remind us that there are still true creatives who care to bring quality art. Whether the film works for you or not is almost moot. Filmmakers and production studios like Astron-6 need to be elevated so the corrupt, evil, despicable, greedy, artless, untalented, lazy, insecure Zaslavs of the world see that we won’t put up with their garbage for much longer.
Haunted house stories are a staple in the horror genre. But it’s not often that a haunted house film digs its way under your skin and stays there long after the credits roll. Enter Recluse, celebrating its world premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival.
A Disturbing Return Home Fuels Recluse’s Story
Joan Wyatt, a young and troubled audio engineer, is called back to her childhood home following a bizarre accident in which her father, the famous artist Lawrence Wyatt, was engulfed in flames and left in critical condition. Joan has been estranged from her father for quite some time, so when his longtime housekeeper Lydia leaves a voicemail telling her that he likely doesn’t have a lot of time left, she ignores it. But then Lawrence himself calls, telling Joan that he’s been seeing her mother—who disappeared when Joan was a child—around the house.
Joan arrives to find Lydia armed with a crossbow to ward off Lawrence’s obsessive fans. Her father is bed-bound with severe burns, and is being cared for by a hired nurse around Joan’s age named Emily. Lawrence, who notoriously experimented with psychedelics and occult practices during his career, is barely coherent and keeps his face concealed underneath a crude plaster mask. He keeps asking about his “little spider.” It’s disturbing and deeply upsetting, especially since Joan already has a lifetime of trauma associated with the house. Now that she’s back, she begins to suspect that these “ghosts” aren’t metaphorical. Lawrence was not a good man… but something even more sinister may be lurking in the house.
Henry Chaisson Reinvents the Haunted House Formula
Recluse, written and directed by Henry Chaisson, is a masterfully crafted debut feature that takes familiar elements of the haunted house genre—like a remote mansion as the setting, traumatic family secrets, and supernatural mischief—and twists them into something fresh and, well, twisted.
Sasha Frolova Leads an Exceptional Ensemble Cast
Sasha Frolova stars as Joan, delivering a performance that is both believable and compelling. She’s easy to root for throughout the film, especially as she contends with her father’s unwaveringly loyal housekeeper Lydia, brilliantly played by Toby Poser. Mia Vallet’s portrayal of Emily is also noteworthy, commanding attention from her first appearance all the way to the end. Kimball Farley plays Lydia’s son and Joan’s friend Todd with the perfect balance of levity and tension. Frankie Seratch is enjoyable to watch as the opportunistic nepo baby art dealer Tom. Rounding out the cast is Xander Berkeley as Lawrence; even from behind a mask, his performance is intense and chilling. Berkeley even provided some of his own art to be used in the film.
Sound Design and Cinematography Create Unrelenting Terror
The cast is far from the film’s only strength, though. Sound design by Matthew Rollins will have you death-gripping your seat in the best way, and serves as an integral part of the story itself. Production designer Yulanda Yo-Rong Shieh and art director Ana María Kalvo absolutely nailed the set and made the Wyatt family mansion simultaneously sprawling and claustrophobic.
Finally, we have the beautiful and (appropriately) haunting cinematography by Bryce Holden, supported by the editing prowess of Nik Voytas, Josh Lobo, and Henry Chaisson. Not only did they maintain an air of unrelenting suspense throughout the entire film, but they also executed some of the most disturbing and bone-chilling jump scares I’ve seen in recent years.
Seriously: One of those jump scares made me feel physically ill. You’ll know it when you see it for yourself.
Recluse had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival 2026.
One of my favorite special interests is the Mormon-millionaire-real-estate-tycoon-owned Skinwalker Ranch. Mormon millionaire Brandon Fugal has crafted a wonderfully apophenic history in his post-Bigelow ownership. His perfectly curated release of pseudo-information through the lens of a History Channel TV show did wonders not just for his wallet but for docu-dramas as a whole. Fugal did what The Curse of Oak Island could have only wished to accomplish. BUT, three years before Joseph Smith’s teachings made their way to the Uinta Basin, a group of filmmakers set out to capitalize on one of America’s strangest phenomena. Skinwalker Ranch is a film that is as perplexing as it is insufferable.
Skinwalker Ranch: Missing Children, UFOs, and Found Footage Chaos
In 2010, Hoyt’s (Jon Gries) son disappeared in a blinding ball of light. Some time later, Modern Defense Enterprises sent a team of experts to Hoyt’s property to study what happened to Cody (Nash Lucas). Upon arriving at the property, MDE sets up a reality-TV-like number of security cameras in the hopes of finding anything. But what they found may just make them wish they hadn’t set foot on this property.
The Real History Behind Skinwalker Ranch Lore
As stated, the story of and behind Skinwalker Ranch is one of my favorite bits of Americana. From the Sherman family’s story, through Robert Bigelow’s ownership, all the way to its current Mormon occupation, the history behind Skinwalker Ranch runs deep. Dire wolves, dino beavers, and disappearing orbs, oh my! Whether you believe in the stories or not, Skinwalker Ranch is one of America’s biggest pieces of lore.
One of my favorite theories is that a resource-observing beacon was placed by, for lack of a better term, aliens when Pangea existed. Throughout the years, the dissolution of Pangea shifted the location of where the aliens placed the beacon to what is now considered the Mesa on the northern portion of Skinwalker Ranch’s property. The said beacon could very possibly be what causes the mysterious 1.6 GHz signal on the ranch, or why there are so many UAP sightings around the Mesa.
How Skinwalker Ranch Wastes Its Fascinating Premise
Now, I know all of this has been discovered post-Skinwalker Ranch (movie), but Hunt for the Skinwalker and Skinwalkers at the Pentagon, by Colm Kelleher and George Knapp (and James T. Lacatski for Pentagon), had already been released. Dino beavers on Skinwalker Ranch had already been discussed. The true terror of Skinwalker Ranch had been disseminated by three highly regarded UFOlogists. So, for writer Adam Ohler (and story by Devin McGinn, Steve Berg, Ken Bretschneider, and Murphy Michaels) to craft such a plain story that doesn’t even scratch the surface of what makes Skinwalker Ranch even slightly interesting is confounding. It feels as if the writer/story creators heard the term “Skinwalker Ranch” and decided to focus on that, and that alone. Skinwalker Ranch has zero world-building, and hopes that the title is titillating enough to get someone to click ‘play’.
The singular great aspect about Skinwalker Ranch is the casting of Jon Gries (Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite) and Michael Horse (Deputy Hawk in Twin Peaks). Gries does enough carrying in this film to make up for dropping that winning pass. And it’s just wonderful to see Michael Horse in a film, even if he’s cast as a token Native American whose only purpose is to make the writers feel better for capitalizing on Native American lore. Besides that, the acting in Skinwalker Ranch is beyond atrocious. In fact, the acting feels so unnatural that I honestly thought the team from MDE was going to turn out to be the aliens that kidnapped Cody. Turns out, the story doesn’t even attempt to be 1% as clever as that.
A Massive Found Footage Failure
Skinwalker Ranch not only fails at being an interesting sci-fi horror flick, but it also fails at being a found footage flick. Full of awful CGI, bad acting, and an even worse script, Skinwalker Ranch exists as nothing more than a time waster. In fact, Travis Walton’s experience in Fire in the Sky would be more entertaining to take part in than watching even two minutes of this film–I’d rather get dry probed by the Hyperboreans than ever think of this movie again.
