Why is “Freaky Tales” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “strong bloody violence, language throughout including slurs, sexual content and drug use.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a man performing oral sex on a woman, a man and a woman kissing, a rap battle containing many sexually suggestive references, revealing covers for adult movies in a video store, many people being killed by a man with a sword, a man exploding, a head being lopped off, a hand being driven through the chest of a victim, a robbery leading to the shooting death of a person, many scenes of racist attacks on people, and at least 36 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

---

Four interconnected stories set in 1987 Oakland, California, with several characters that cross from one story to another. The stories include Nazis, punk rockers, rappers and loan sharks, and entail themes of revenge and retribution. With Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Too $hort, Ji-young Yoo, Jack Champion, Marteen, Zack Roberts, LeQuan Antonio Bennett, Michelle Farrah Huang and Keir Gilchrist. Directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck. A few lines are spoken in Korean without subtitles. [Running Time: 1:46]

Freaky Tales SEX/NUDITY 6

 – A woman opens a door and sees a man performing oral sex on a woman (we see the man’s head between the woman’s bare legs as she sits with her back facing the door). An animated sequence shows a man imagining thrusting toward a woman’s face after the woman asks him what he would do in a dream.
► A man and a woman kiss in the middle of a crowded dance floor in a club.
► A man sings suggestive lyrics to two women during a rap battle and they reciprocate. A man makes rude, suggestive and crass remarks to a woman about ice cream in a shop, where the woman is working and the man is ordering ice cream.
► A man walks through a room where there are shelves holding adult videos and we see the covers featuring scantily clad women that reveal bare buttocks, cleavage, abdomens and legs. Two women wear cropped tank tops that reveal cleavage and bare abdomens. A woman wears a sports bra that reveals bare shoulders, cleavage and her bare abdomen as a man helps her put ice on her ribs after a fight in a club. A man undresses and we see his bare chest, abdomen and back.

Freaky Tales VIOLENCE/GORE 8

 – A man uses a sword to slash a man across the abdomen and cut another man’s arm off (we see the remaining bloody stump and exposed bone); he fights many other men in a house with weapons and hand-to-hand combat (we see a pile of bloody bodies), then slams his hand through a man’s chest and we see his bloody hand protruding from the man’s back and a gaping hole when he removes it. Many people face a large number of men preparing to attack them: the first group charges the second group and they fight with people being stabbed, slashed, run through and pummeled with punches and kicks (we see blood gushing and spurting from wounds and one man’s leg breaks below the knee), and one man is doused with flammable liquid and ignited (we see him thrash and fall to the ground in flames). A man drops a small mouse into a tank with a snake and another man enters the room and slashes the first man’s head off (it plops into the snake tank).
► Armed people rummage through a house and shoot three people when they arrive (we hear that one person died); we hear a woman scream and gunshots ring out. A man stands outside a car and threatens the driver with a gun saying that the man in the car killed his father and he watched (as a child); we see a flashback to the man beating someone off-screen repeatedly and blood spurts and sprays. A man standing outside a car is shot and falls to the ground; a person in the car bleeds from an abdominal wound after being shot. A man getting a tattoo on his shoulder is stabbed through the back (we see the blade and blood). A man hits another man in the head with an axe and he falls dead with his eyes open and blood streaming down his face. A man threatens another man with a shotgun and the other man causes him to shake and drop the weapon; the man thrashes and quakes until he explodes to splatter and matter.
► Many men riding in pickup trucks arrive at a club and march toward it, insulting the owner, pushing their way through people inside knocking them down, punches are exchanged, breaking a drum on stage, urinating on band equipment and doing a Nazi salute. A man tries to collect a debt from another man and breaks his fingers (we see them bend and hear a snap). A man carrying a sword speeds on a motorcycle to a home where he fights many other men stabbing and slashing them (blood splatters and sprays).
► A man in his car takes a handgun from the glove compartment and prepares to shoot himself when he is interrupted by a boy selling him an audio tape. Many people train for self-defense and hand-to-hand combat and make weapons. Many people talk about whether to fight against a group of Nazis and vote on the prospect instead of hiring off-duty police officers. Several references are made to a cosmic green glow and harnessing its power; one person mentions that it is caused by aliens, and we see green lightning flashes in the sky in a few scenes. People talk about what they would do if they knew about a secret cult of vampires. People talk about mindfulness training to help achieve their potential. An animated representation of a man squeezes out of the man’s ear and clings to the side of a woman’s face. A man goes to a private room where other men are gambling and one man is upset when he loses. A man makes a remark about roughing someone up. A man’s eyes shine with a green glow. A man gets out of his car and puts a handgun in the back of his pants. A man prepares to fight others with a knife and we hear a dog yelp (we don’t see the dog harmed).
► A man threatens another man’s family and his dog. A doctor tells a man over the phone that a woman didn’t make it and that she lost too much blood; he also tells him that his newborn child is in the NICU and not expected to survive. A man is told that his family members were attacked during a home robbery and that his girlfriend was killed. A woman says that another woman bled from her eyes and ears after participating in a mindfulness program. A man tells another man that he sees him in hell wearing a gasoline suit.
► A man walks on a blood-soaked carpet and we hear squishing and see blood stick to his shoes. A man in a police lineup cries what looks like a glowing green tear.

Freaky Tales LANGUAGE 8

 – About 36 F-words and its derivatives, 7 obscene hand gestures, 8 sexual references, 29 scatological terms, 14 anatomical terms, 22 mild obscenities, 7 derogatory terms for African-American people, 7 derogatory terms for gay men, 4 derogatory terms for gay women, 2 derogatory term for a Jewish person, name-calling (fresh, boneheads, psycho, crazy, weird, bully, losers, underdog, punk, racist Nazi scumbag, boy son, Nazi scum), exclamations (blow your mind, rad, chit-chat, eat a [anatomical term deleted], don’t judge), 2 religious profanities (GD), 4 religious exclamations (e.g. flames of Hell, Jesus Christ, oh God, oh my God). | profanity glossary |

Freaky Tales SUBSTANCE USE

 – People snort a drug from a table and drink beer, two men smoke a drug, and people snort drugs from tables and drink at a celebration. People drink beer in a few club scenes, men drink liquor and smoke cigarettes while gambling in a private room, and a man drinks a glass of whiskey. People smoke cigarettes outside a club, people smoke cigarettes while gambling, a man smokes a cigarette, and a man smokes in a police station.

Freaky Tales DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Oakland 1987, racism, Nazis, overcoming bigotry, resisting violence, Ronald Reagan, racism, white power.

Freaky Tales MESSAGE

 – Find your inner strength to do the right thing even in the face of tragedy.