The Story of Some Freaks and Why It Matters
Some Freaks follows Matt, a one-eyed teenager who finds genuine connection with Jill, a classmate the world has taught both of them to overlook. Their romance blooms quietly, without fanfare—two people finding each other in the margins of high school social hierarchy. But when Jill heads to college and undergoes a striking physical transformation, losing significant weight, the relationship they'd built on acceptance and genuine affection fractures in ways neither of them anticipated. It's a premise that sounds almost cruel in its simplicity, yet the film uses it to ask something genuinely unsettling: what happens when the thing you loved someone for shifts beneath your feet?
Director Ian MacAllister-McDonald crafted a story that refuses easy answers. The tagline—"It's weird not to be weird"—captures the film's central thesis: that conformity and transformation can be as isolating as being an outsider. No spoilers here, but the film doesn't let either character off the hook, and that moral ambiguity is what lingers.
How Some Freaks Came Together and Found Its Audience
Made by Good Deed Entertainment, Some Freaks emerged as a quiet success in the indie film circuit. The 2016 release stars Thomas Mann—known for his sensitive, understated work in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl—alongside Marin Ireland and Lily Mae Harrington, both bringing authenticity to roles that could've easily become caricatures in less careful hands. The film's runtime of 97 minutes keeps things lean; there's no bloat, just story.
What's striking is how the industry took notice. The film racked up 9 festival wins and 5 nominations, a respectable haul for an indie drama that didn't have studio backing or franchise recognition. It earned a Metascore of 67, signaling solid critical approval, and—more tellingly—a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, where critics found something worth championing. The IMDb rating of 6.2 from over 2,100 votes suggests it's found its people, even if it never became a household name. Not rated by the MPAA, Some Freaks plays without the constraints of a formal rating, which actually serves the film's intimacy.
Thomas Mann's casting was crucial. He brings a vulnerability to Matt that avoids the "poor, misunderstood guy" trap—he's flawed, sometimes selfish, sometimes kind, sometimes both at once. Marin Ireland, meanwhile, has always excelled at playing characters caught between who they are and who the world wants them to be, and that's exactly what Some Freaks demands of her.
What Makes Some Freaks Stand Out Among Coming-of-Age Romances
Here's the thing about Some Freaks that most films won't touch: it doesn't pretend transformation is always liberation. Jill's weight loss could be read as triumph in another movie, as self-improvement, as finally becoming her "true self." But MacAllister-McDonald knows better. He knows that transformation also means loss—of identity, of history, of the person Matt fell in love with. The film sits in that uncomfortable space without flinching away.
The performances anchor everything. Mann doesn't play Matt as a saint or a villain; he's a kid trying to hold onto something while the world tells him he should want something else. Ireland carries scenes where Jill is literally discovering her own power and realizing it might cost her the one person who saw her first. There's a particular moment late in the film—without spoiling it—where Jill confronts the gap between being desired and being known, and Ireland nails the devastation of that distinction.
What's also refreshing is how the film treats its supporting characters. They're not obstacles or comedic relief; they're people navigating their own stuff, which makes the world feel lived-in rather than constructed around the central romance. The dialogue doesn't announce its themes—characters don't sit around explaining what they've learned. Instead, you watch them make choices, sometimes good ones, sometimes terrible ones, and you feel the weight of those decisions.
I keep coming back to how the film refuses sentimentality. It would be easier to end with reconciliation or a clear moral lesson, but Some Freaks trusts you to sit with ambiguity. That takes guts for a 97-minute indie film.
Where to Stream Some Freaks Online
Some Freaks is available on major streaming platforms, and you can check the Where to Watch widget at the top of this page to see exactly which services are carrying it in your region right now. Availability shifts regularly, so Movie OTT tracks current streaming homes across Netflix, Prime Video, and other platforms to save you the hunting. If you're browsing through your usual services and can't find it, the widget will point you in the right direction. It's one of those films worth seeking out once you know where to look.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who directed Some Freaks?
Ian MacAllister-McDonald wrote and directed Some Freaks, marking a strong statement of vision for an indie filmmaker. The film reflects his willingness to complicate his characters rather than simplify them for audience comfort.
Q: Is Some Freaks based on a true story?
No, Some Freaks is an original screenplay, though it draws on universal experiences of transformation, identity, and romantic disappointment that feel deeply rooted in real life. That's part of why it resonates—it feels lived-in even though it's fictional.
Q: How long is Some Freaks?
The film runs 97 minutes, making it a tight, focused narrative that doesn't overstay its welcome. Every scene carries weight.
Q: What rating is Some Freaks?
Some Freaks is not rated by the MPAA, which means it plays without formal content restrictions. It contains mature themes and some language, so it's best suited for older teens and adults.
Q: Where can I watch Some Freaks right now?
Check the Where to Watch widget on this page—Movie OTT keeps that information current across all major streaming services so you don't have to.
Final Thoughts on Some Freaks
If you're tired of coming-of-age stories that wrap everything up neatly, Some Freaks offers something better: a film that trusts you to think, to feel conflicted, to sit with the mess of real relationships. It's weird not to be weird, the film suggests—and it's also weird to be weird, especially when the people around you start changing. That's the human condition, messy and unresolved, and Some Freaks captures it with honesty and grace. Seek it out.
