FRECKLED MAX AND THE SPOOKS (2025 trailer)

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FRECKLED MAX AND THE SPOOKS (PEHAVÝ MAX A STRAŠIDLÁ) – 1987, Slovak Film Institute, 97 min. Dir. Juraj Jakubisko. "It all began under the Frankenstein castle. It was my tenth year with this circus troupe, and we were passing through a bleak territory of vampires, will-o'-the-wisps and water sprites," observes young orphan Max (Martin Hrebeň), just before he runs away and hides out in the ruins of the nearby castle. There he discovers a rogues’ gallery of lonely monsters who’ve made it their home: gruesome but loveable Alojz (Eddie Constantine, Lemmy Caution from Godard’s ALPHAVILLE); the marvelous Ferdinand Mayne (Polanski’s THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS) as Count Dracula; a wonderful, whiskey-voiced Viveca Lindfors (THE DAMNED, STARGATE) as the Countess Frankenstein; Gerhardt Karzel as the irresistibly goofy Frankenstein’s Monster named Albert; along with the ghostly white lady Elizabeth Bathory (Mercedes Sampietro) and other assorted phantoms. A bittersweet, slapstick cross between MONSTER SQUAD, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and the Island of Misfit Toys, FRECKLED MAX is a nostalgic Gothic fairytale about broken hearts and monsters who long to be loved for who they are – and a truly delightful discovery for genre fans. Acclaimed for his early role as one of the Czechoslovak New Wave directors (THE PRIME OF LIFE) and later films such as THE MILLENNIAL BEE and THE FEATHER FAIRY (starring Fellini’s muse Giulietta Masina), Slovak director Juraj Jakubisko (1938-2023) adapted his miniseries “Frankenstein’s Aunt” into the feature version FRECKLED MAX. Filled with Jakubisko’s trademark surrealism and haunted poetry – including eerie shots of a bat-winged Dracula flying over a mountain lake straight out of NOSFERATU – the film is also a joyous comic treat. What makes FRECKLED MAX so memorable and heart-tugging, though, are the unexpected moments of sadness with the orphaned monsters and their orphaned human friend: "When someone ends up alone, he turns into a ghost," as Count Dracula sighs. Beautifully restored by the Slovak Film Institute for its first-ever Blu-ray release in the U.S. through Deaf Crocodile Films and Comeback Company. In Slovak with English subtitles.