History YMMV / Freaks

* FairForItsDay: The titular Freaks ''are'' presented as off-putting and creepy in their way, particularly at the signature "One of us" scene and at the ending when they enact their revenge. Cleo's fate of becoming a freak herself is treated as a horrifying punishment, which it nevertheless is. But at the same time, they're unquestionably portrayed as good, friendly people who attempt to stay upbeat and positive in spite of the prejudice they have to deal with every day. The villains of the story are two traditionally handsome, gorgeous, "Normal" people whose beauty is quickly revealed to be only skin deep.

** The 90's comic series reveal of Cleo after the freaks are done with her, as shown on the Nightnare Fuel page; while certainly a horrific and nightmarish fate for the character, the design looks far more cartoonish than the movie version, making it hard to take seriously. Arguably, the leadup to this scene, with Cleo trying to flee on her mutilated hands and feet through the rain, screaming for help, and almost catching the attention of a passing car, only to vanish between one panel and the next, is much scarier.

* UglyCute: The Pinheads.
** Generally, all the freaks here are UglyCute, with the exceptions of the adorable Hans, the beautiful Frieda, Frances, Daisy, and Violet and the uncommonly handsome Johnny Eck. Josephine-Joseph isn't too hard on the eyes, either.

* VindicatedByHistory: At first dismissed as a horrific ExploitationFilm with reviews at the time condemning it and used [[KickTheDog dehumanizing language in regards to the freaks]]. ''Freaks'' has since earned a cult following in the sixties counter-culture movement and is today recognized as a classic, particularly for its [[FairForItsDay sympathetic portrayal of the titular "freaks."]]

* FairForItsDay: The titular Freaks ''are'' presented as off-putting and creepy in their way, particularly at the signature "One of us" scene and at the ending when they enact their revenge. Cleo's fate of becoming a freak herself is treated as a horrifying punishment, which it nonetheless is. But at the same time, they're unquestionably portrayed as good, friendly people who attempt to stay upbeat and positive in spite of the prejudice they have to deal with every day. The villains of the story are two traditionally handsome, gorgeous, "Normal" people whose beauty is quickly revealed to be only skin deep.

* KarmicOverkill: While Hercules and Cleopatra's actions are undeniably represehensible, some feel that the punishment the titular freaks enact on the villains are just as if not worse.

** For many viewers however, the Freaks cross this line by enacting their horrific revenge on Hercules and Cleopatra.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Some viewers, ones that were even fairly sympathetic towards the titular Freaks, felt all sympathy for them completely evaporate after their justified, yet nonetheless '''horrific''' punishment on Hercules and Cleopatra.

* FairForItsDay: The titular Freaks ''are'' presented as off-putting and creepy in their way, particularly at the signature "One of us" scene and at the ending when they enact their revenge. Cleo's fate of becoming a freak herself is treated as a horrifying punishment. But at the same time, they're unquestionably portrayed as good, friendly people who attempt to stay upbeat and positive in spite of the prejudice they have to deal with every day. The villains of the story are two traditionally handsome, gorgeous, "Normal" people whose beauty is quickly revealed to be only skin deep.

* MoralEventHorizon: Cleopatra and Hercules' attempted murder of Hans and Venus toward the end.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Some viewers, ones that were even fairly sympathetic towards the titular Freaks, felt all sympathy for them completely evaporate after their justified, yet nonetheless '''horrifying''' punishment on Hercules and Cleopatra.

* KarmicOverkill: While Hercules and Cleopatra's actions are undeniably represehensible, some feel that the punishment the titular freaks enact on the villains are just as if not more horrifying.

* VindicatedByHistory: At first dismissed as a horrific ExploitationFilm with reviews at the time condemning it and used [[KickTheDog dehumanizing language in regards to the freaks]]. ''Freaks'' has since earned a cult following in the sixties counter-culture movement and is today recognized as a classic, particularly for its [[FairForItsDay sympathetic portrayal of the titular "freaks."]]

* MemeticMutation: "One of us! One of us! Gooble-gobble gooble-gobble! We accept her, we accept her!"

* HarsherInHindsight: The scenes with Daisy and Violet Hilton become tragic when you remember how their lives eventually ended- Daisy died of the Hong Kong flu and Violet died ''two to four days later''. Keep in mind, they were still attached. They also had incredibly tragic lives before and after the film.

* BrokenAesop: The Freaks are portrayed sympathetically with the message against judging people by physical appearance. That said, some might see what they do to Cleopatra as [[FateWorseThanDeath far more horrific]] than her murder plan, and transforming her into a freak as revenge can dilute the message.
** On the other hand, many, ''many'' reviewers cite the ending as necessary and cathartic, and view the fundamental indignity of Cleopatra's mutilated condition as BlackComedy in a way that sets her apart for deserved ridicule in a way the "born different" freaks just going about their lives doesn't. [[note]]Considering she was originally going to be accompanied by Hercules singing soprano after being castrated, it's arguably less about ''just'' making them into "freaks" too and more about depriving them of the specific prized qualities that they exploited to get away with being cruel: Cleopatra's sensuality, beauty and [[ShesGotLegs especially her Vegas-caliber legs]], Hercules's brutal masculinity.[[/note]]

* BrokenAesop: The Freaks are portrayed sympathetically with the message against judging people by physical appearance. That said, what they do to Cleopatra is arguably [[FateWorseThanDeath far more horrific]] than her murder plan, and transforming her into a freak as revenge can dilute the message.

** Generally, all the freaks here are UglyCute, with the exceptions of the adorable Hans and Frieda and the uncommonly handsome Johnny Eck.

* {{Narm}}: The ending has a the character played by Prince Randian - who's capable of rolling cigarettes with his mouth and is shown to do so - worming his way towards a villain with a knife in his mouth. With context, it may come across as silly, but he's known to be capable of handling things more complex than that and he's almost certainly very much capable of using it. Without context...it's very silly, as his skill can't be known to someone who hasn't seen it.

** Prince Randian, after rolling a cigarette with his lips, yells "I CAN DO ANYTHING WITH MY MOUTH!" for no apparent reason.

* {{Narm}}: The ending has a character with no limbs worming his way towards a villain with a knife in his ''mouth''. Even if he gets there, what's he going to do with it? Give it to someone else in the chaos?
** That character was played by Prince Randian,who could roll cigarettes with his mouth and shows off that skill in the film. Since he could do that, which requires more dexterity than stabbing someone, he could almost certainly use it.

* HarsherInHindsight: The scenes with Daisy and Violet Hilton become tragic when you remember how their lives eventually ended- Daisy died of the Hong Kong flu and Violet died "two to four days later". Keep in mind, they were still attached. They also had incredibly tragic lives before and after the film.

* HarsherInHindsight: The scenes with Daisy and Violet Hilton become tragic when you remember how their lives eventually ended- Daisy died of the Hong Kong flu and Violet died two to four days later. Keep in mind, they were still attached. They also had incredibly tragic lives before and after the film.

* HarsherInHindsight: The scenes with Daisy and Violet Hilton become tragic when you remember how their lives eventually ended- Daisy died of the Hong Kong flu and Violet died //two to four days later//. Keep in mind, they were still attached. They also had incredibly tragic lives before and after the film.