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.
