As a child, I used to love films and shows that heavily featured puppets. The early noughties ITV show Ripley and Scuff was a particular favourite, but shows like Rosie and Jim and films like Team America: World Police harbour equally fond memories. Perhaps that’s why I was particularly taken by Frankie Freako, a horror-comedy that takes these practical effects and plays on their nostalgia in a really effective way.
The film follows Conor (played by Conor Sweeney) as an office worker in typical 1980s suburbia. He’s timid by nature: the only show he watches is a parody of Antiques Roadshow, and instead of using the word “hell” he hilariously contracts it to just “h.” When his partner goes away for the weekend, he pushes the boat out by ringing Frankie Freako’s hotline, which unleashes a trinity of demon puppets that wreak havoc on his life.
It’s not much of a plot to go off, but it’s the tone and comedy behind Frankie Freako that really elevate the film. Writer-director Steven Kostanski plays the whole thing like a live-action cartoon, complete with lightning-fast pacing, snappy dialogue, and something vibrant happening on screen at all times. The eponymous gremlin and his two accomplices are responsible for most of this: zipping into the plot incredibly quickly and taking you by the scruff of the neck throughout.
It’s a film that knows exactly how silly its premise is, and isn’t afraid to lean into it. The puppets themselves are stilted and unexpressive, the line deliveries are overly cheesy, and the stunt work is so painfully obvious that you can’t help but laugh. That’s all the point, though. It feels like one of those B movies you’d randomly flick the channel onto late at night, and plays like a highlights reel of that long-forgotten subgenre.
By that coin, it also means that there isn’t a whole lot of plot to Frankie Freako. More like a maniacal spin on Alvin and the Chipmunks, most of the runtime consists of the gremlins coming into Conor’s life and raising hell. There’s some fleeting attempts to contextualise their origin and reason for coming to Earth, and even a few great scenes on their home planet, but let’s be honest, you’re not here for nuanced storytelling.
Nonetheless, it’s the kind of thing that would thrive on repeat viewing – late nights, boozy evenings with friends – if the character work was just a little tighter. Frankie and Conor are the only two who properly interact in the film, and they very quickly go from adversaries to friends who would sacrifice themselves for the other – which is especially jarring when the latter half itself is slower in pace. I’m not expecting Citizen Kane here, but a more organic pathway to this relational conclusion would’ve helped the film’s broader emotional swings to land.
But what Frankie Freako really needed to land were its practical effects and anarchic tone, and it does this with ease. The whole thing is incredibly fun, an absolute rollercoaster 80-minute ride, and brimming with the stupid comedy and overt gore that made the 80s such a seminal decade for cinema. More than anything, Frankie Freako is hugely endearing, oddly comforting to watch, and wildly entertaining.
★★★½
Frankie Freako will be available on Digital Download from July 14, 2025.
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