"Freaks" is the story of what was then called a Circus Sideshow. At the time, sideshows were meant to showcase "Freaks", real people in various stages of physical deformities. They weren't part of the main event, but they were kept out of the way of polite society, and one only went to see them if you were in the mood for a little fright and disgust. In our story, the freaks are led by a Dwarf named Hans. Hans is engaged to marry fellow dwarf Frieda. Hans is a good man, but he finds himself drawn to the overt charisma and sexuality of the normal-sized headliner, Cleopatra. Cleopatra thinks Hans is a freak, but doesn't discourage his advances, wooing him with the anticipation of inheriting his fortune. Hans eventually leaves Frieda for Cleopatra, and marries her. But as they celebrate their wedding supper, and Cleopatra is initiated into the Freak Family (as they think of themselves), Hans discovers what she really thinks of him. Over several weeks Cleopatra attempts to poison Hans so that she can run off with her lover, Hercules the Strongman. Her attempted murder is witnessed by the fellow freaks. As she attempts to get away , she and Hercules are eventually chased down by the freaks and in an ode to horror, become subject to freakish justice.
This was quite a notorious picture for its day. In an attempt to humanize people with physical deformities, it ended up frightening "decent people" everywhere. MGM held it out of release and edited it to smithereens (most of the scary scenes were edited out and destroyed), so that Browning's original vision was whittled down to nothing but the sideshow he was hoping to overcome. It ended up being a flop, and in effect, ruined his career. He only made a few more pictures after that. If you look at the picture in today's politically correct lens, you can see the point Browning was trying to get across - people are people, and everyone is deformed in some way. And looking at it that way, the movie really isn't all that scary. But if you were a moviegoer in the 1930's, when people with physical challenges were shuttled off and kept out of view, it would have been terrifying.
