Disturbing Teaser For TIFF Sci-Fi/Thriller ‘Freaks’ With Emile Hirsch And Bruce Dern

One of the buzziest titles to debut at TIFF is Freaks, a sci-fi/thriller that looks like a combination of Signs and The Cabin in the Woods. But what is it really? Well, that’s hard to say, and the new teaser, while heavy on disturbing imagery, doesn’t reveal very much…

The cast is pretty great for this one, led by Emile Hirsch, Bruce Dern, Grace Park, Amanda Crew, and newcomger Lexy Kolker. Behind the camera are Adam B. Stein and Zach Lipovsky, the latter having previously worked on the awful Leprechaun: Origins. Together they’re currently co-directing the upcoming live-action Kim Possible movie, so it’s tough to tell what to expect from these two.

The story centers on a 7-year-old girl locked away in the house by her disturbed father who warns of grave dangers outside their door. When a mysterious man awesomely-named Mr. Snowcone arrives he convinces the girl to run away, which is when she discovers “bizarre, threatening, and mysterious new world beyond her front door after she escapes her father’s protective and paranoid control.”  

In only a few seconds we see things being set on fire, claws outside a window, terrified cops ready to shoot something, bleeding eyes, a mysterious vapor-like substance, and more. There’s a lot going on here, and hopefully we learn more when a longer trailer is released.