freaksuncensor

Freaks Uncensored! is a fairly comprehensive documentary mainly made up of photographs , and archival footage. It's about the history of human oddities in the carnival circuit. It not only shows the people concerned, but also explains a great deal about the superstitions and medical diagnosis' of these human oddities who are perhaps more widely known as freaks.

The infamous lobster man for instance had claw-like hands and feet , and despite his helpless appearance was quite able-bodied. He beat his wife and children for years, until his wife poisoned him. He wasn't exactly missed by many according to the documentary.

Then we have the half-boy , Johnny Eck. Eck was made famous in Tod Brownings film Freaks . The documentary shows Johnny performing amazing feats despite the fact he's missing the lower half of his body. He runs with his hands , stands on one hand, and even climbs a ladder. Other oddities featured in this documentary include the Lion faced man (pictured) , real and false bearded ladies , pinheads, blockheads, and more.

It also shows us siamese twins Violet and Daisy Hilton. The sisters starred in a movie based on a real life case of a man who was a siamese twin who killed someone while drunk and couldn't be jailed out of fairness to his attached brother. Other sideshow filmstars featured in Freaks Uncensored! are Angelo Rossito (Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome) , and a pinhead who starred in countless films and on the sideshows for years despite being mentally incompetent. Cult film icon David Friedman ( Blood Feast, She Freak , 2000 Maniacs) even shows up to throw his two cents in.

As a kid , before political correctness reared its ugly head ( in my town at least) , the highlight of the local show every march was the freakshow. Although there were never any living oddities present , there were plenty of faded b&w photographs , and the infamous cyclops baby pickled in a jar ( an exercise in the suspension of disbelief , even for an 8 year old). I can't remember any feelings of superiority that certain interviewees in this documentary accuse the punter of, and I'm pretty sure that I felt more of a sense of amazement . At least the public could satisfy their curiosity by seeing consenting (and more importantly well paid) oddities in sideshow alley.

With the death of the sideshow , these people lost income (and in some cases great wealth) and the dignity of being performers. Instead of a designated staring place which gave them a platform to perform and speak their minds , the politically correct have swept these people away from society because of their subconcious feelings of uncomfortability around them. I finished watching this interesting and entertaining documentary wondering how many disgruntled human oddities are on the unemployment lines ; robbed of their rightful income. Perhaps some were exploited by ruthless promoters , but probably no more than in any other line of work.