Freaks

Bizarre horror movie released in 1932. Directed by Tod Browning and written by Al Boasberg and Willis Goldbeck. Starred, for the most part, a bunch of real carnival freaks -- not actors in makeup -- including midget siblings Harry Earles and Daisy Earles, trumpet-playing Siamese twins Violet and Daisy Hilton, pinhead Schlitze, "Half-Woman, Half-Man" Josephine Joseph, human torso Johnny Eck, Frances O'Connor (the Turtle Girl), and Peter Robinson (the Living Human Skeleton). The primary non-freak stars were Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, Roscoe Ates, and Henry Victor.

Basically, it's about a scheming beauty and her strongman beau who hatch a plot in which the beauty will marry a wealthy midget at the carnival where they all work, kill him, and steal his money. The villains put on a good act, but at the wedding dinner, when the other freaks of the circus chant, "Gabba gabba, we accept you, we accept you, one of us," the beauty loses her cool and rants about how disgusted she is by the freaks. Wise to her ploy, the freaks eventually hunt down the "normals" and get their revenge. The climax takes place in a nighttime downpour as the freaks hop and slither their way through the mud to get to the villains -- it's an astounding, horrifying image that hasn't been duplicated in cinema since.

When it was released, the film caused a major controversy and was met with almost-universal horror and derision. It was banned in many parts of the United States and in England. It is still supposed to be banned in Sweden. Browning, who had previously won great acclaim as the director of "Dracula," had trouble finding work in Hollywood again, and some of the movie's stars later denounced the film as exploitative. Nowadays, it's more of a curiosity than anything else, although the story is plenty creepy.

Some research from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com)

The name of a popular chain of internet cafés in Japan, open around the clock and main features being internet and comics (or manga), the later perhaps what draws the most people, especially combined with airconditioning and free drink bar. Each computer is in a small cubicle (about 1x1,5m), some cubicles without other features, some with DVD players, televisions, various video games consoles, etc. There are also cubicles for two to four people with only televisions and video game equipment, of which some has tatami mats and cushions instead of chairs.

After getting a membership, the customer picks a seat by choosing a magnet, marking an unoccupied cubicle, from a map of the cubicles in the café. After being sent on his way with three or four voices going "Goyukkuri douzo!" in chorus, the customer is free to settle down in his/her cubicle, get something to drink, and choose from a vast selection of DVDs, comics, magazines and video games. Using an interphone the customer can also order cheap food, such as toast set (served 6:00-11:00, ¥100), Japanese style lunch tray (served 11:00-15:00, ¥380), and mixed snack tray (Japanese snacks and caramels or corn snacks, popcorn and chips, ¥180).

Can easily be spotted by its trademark orange color and the logos featuring the FREAKS mascot, a superhero-like cartoon character dressed in blue and red.

The standard price as of now for one hour is ¥450, but the are loads of halfprice days, discounts and such. For instance, there's the night pack (7 hours, ¥1750), the 3 and 6 hour packs (¥980 respectively ¥1600), the ladies' day (once a week, halfprice for women), the students' day (once every now and then, halfprice for students), the days when those who own a FREAKS cell phone strap get the first hour for ¥105... you get the picture. The personnel tend to randomly give out discount coupons (the ones I've recieved either on ¥50 or ¥300) and "Goods Get Campaign" cards (your card is stamped each time you visit a FREAKS; after two stamps you get a FREAKS cell phone strap, after four a FREAKS fan, and so on).

Overall a very nice place, I'd probably come here even if I did own a computer. Could do without the elevator music though.