Sundance review: 'Freaky Tales' is a wild ride, a kaleidoscopic blend of ferocious storytelling and comical violence

“Freaky Tales” is a vibe — a “Pulp Fiction”-style amalgam of comically gory set pieces — and you’re either into it or not. I was definitely into it, riding on its giddy storytelling wave.

Director-writers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden — whose careers have veered from Sundance darlings (“Half Nelson,” SFF ’07) to the MCU (“Captain Marvel”) — tell four interconnected stories set in Oakland, Calif., in May 1987. The common threads of the four tales are bloodshed, the Golden State Warriors’ epic playoff showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers, and a weird green glow that supposedly permeates what locals call The Town.

• The first chapter shows a group of punks standing up for their club against attacks from a group of skinheads, and the budding romance between two of the punks, Lucid (Jack Champion, from “Avatar: The Way of Water”) and Tina (Ji-young Yoo) 

• Chapter 2 introduces Barbie (Dominique Thorne) and Entice (Normani), who work at an ice cream shop by day and enter a battle-rap at night against an Oakland legend, Too Short.

• In the third story, Clint (Pedro Pascal), the muscle for a shadowy figure referred to as “the guy,” who aims to exit the bone-breaking racket to be with his very pregnant wife (Natalia Dominguez) — but a visit to a video-rental store proves fateful.

• And, finally, a story with the title “The Legend of Sleepy Floyd,” referring to the Warriors star (played by Jay Ellis) and his performance on and off the court.

Fleck and Boden have written a tight script, where offhand comments early on turn out to be seeds planted for later twists, where even a random movie reference becomes significant. They have fun playing with visual styles to evoke the ‘80s period — the aspect ratio changes from chapter to chapter, with some showing the static of old VHS tapes while others have “cigarette burns” to mark the reel changes. And they get support from a cast that includes Ben Mendelsohn as an obnoxious cop and Angus Cloud (who died last July) as a heist organizer. 

Like I said, “Freaky Tales” may not be for everyone. The first and fourth chapters evoke levels of stylized violence reminiscent of “Sin City” and “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” while also riffing on classic martial arts movies. If you’re on its wavelength, though, it’s a blast.

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‘Freaky Tales’

★★★1/2

Screening in the Premieres section of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout including slurs, sexual content and drug use. Running time: 107 minutes.

Screens again: Tuesday, January 23, 7 p.m., The Ray, Park City; Thursday, January 25, 3 p.m., Redstone Cinemas 2, Park City; Sunday, January 28, 8 p.m., Library Center Theatre, Park City.