Freaked

We all know what happened to Ted, but whatever became of Bill? Known simply for his co-lead role as Keanu Reeves' buddy in the Bill & Ted films and a micro-bit part in The Lost Boys, Alex Winter's career never took off like his co-star's. What a lot of people don't know is that in 1993, he released a film in which he was lead actor, as well as co-producer, co-writer and co-director. It's called Freaked and as the title suggests, it's out there. Winter plays Ricky Coogin, a brash child star who's looking to cash in when Zygrot-24 (a toxic fertiliser company) offers him millions to become its celebrity spokesperson. It turns out the stuff doesn't mix well with humans. On a trip to South America, Ricky finds himself not only held captive in Freek Land by madman Elijah C. Skuggs (Randy Quaid), but also quickly mutated into a hideous man-beast. While imprisoned, Ricky meets others in his position: the Bearded Lady (Mr. T), Sockhead (Bobcat Goldthwait) and Ortiz the dog-boy (an uncredited Keanu Reeves). Together they form an alliance to overthrow Skuggs and transform themselves back into humans. Freaked is fucked up; it's a wildly creative film that stays outside of the box. Winter and partner Stern concocted something truly original and funny, with a wonderful cast. Unfortunately for them, it was a huge failure and Fox gave up on it, which may be the reason why this DVD is stacked with so many extras. The directors' commentary is slightly inane, but still fun. The pair admits the film was derived from their MTV show The Idiot Box and launched as a $100,000 film for the Butthole Surfers before it was snatched by Fox and given a $12 million budget. On the second disc is a complete "reehersel" of the entire film, which is exhausting, but still a nice extra for the hardcore fanatic; and best of all is Winter's makeup reconstruction, where they test his horrific look on a small baby. Plus: interviews, deleted scenes, art gallery, more. (Anchor Bay)