Freaks

The cinematic equivalent of listening to one of the field recordings made by folk historians in the early 20th century, this profoundly troubling, mysterious, and uncanny film follows a devious trapeze artist intent on murdering a dwarf in a carnival troupe to gain his inheritance. She soon finds that these performers live a lifestyle characterized by their communal bonds, and sees the full limits of what they’re capable of when one of their own is threatened. Composed of a cast of the era’s stars alongside actual sideshow performers, Browning’s viscerally striking thriller was initially met with shock upon its release, but has been re-appraised in recent years as a force—equally haunting and serving as an early plea for a more nuanced understanding of an ostracized community.