From the writer-director duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, “Freaky Tales” is a pulpy smorgasbord of genres, style choices, and characters, coagulating into an overstuffed Bay Area pastiche that has a hard time finding its footing. But once it does (roughly halfway through), the movie almost generates enough grindhouse goodness to save itself…almost.

“Freaky Tales” is Boden and Fleck’s first feature film since their 2019 MCU blockbuster “Captain Marvel”. During that gap they have worked mostly in television, directing four episodes of “Mrs. America” for FX and two episodes of the underappreciated “Masters of the Air” for AppleTV+. With “Freaky Tales” they turn back towards their indie filmmaking roots with a story that borrows a ton from other projects that came before it.

Set in 1987 Oakland and narrated by hometown rapper and executive producer Too $hort, “Freaky Tales” is told through four loosely interconnected stories set in and around the city. I say loosely because most of the connections are minor at best. About the only continuity between all four stories are reoccurring television commercials for some meditation seminars and a “green glow” that seems to represent nothing more than that ‘special something’ Oakland had at the time.

The first chapter centers on the East Bay punk scene where three friends leave a movie and head to a local punk rock club for a nightcap. While there, Lucid (Jack Champion) tries to muster the courage to tell Tina (Ji-young Yoo) how he feels about her. But their night is interrupted by a pack of neo-Nazi skinheads. The second chapter follows Entice (Normani) and Barbie (Dominique Thorne), an aspiring female rap duo who get their chance to show what they can do in an on-stage rap duel against Too $hort (Symba).

Neither of the first two stories leave much of an impression outside of the digitally enhanced violence in chapter one and the terrific first performance from Normani in chapter two. Both sluggishly play out over a long and unremarkable 45 minutes. Worst of all, neither add any real weight to the overall narrative. They play like snippets of different subcultures rather than meaningful parts of something bigger.

But things noticeably pick up in chapter three. Pedro Pascal plays an underworld strong-arm and debt collector who’s looking to retire and settle down with his pregnant wife (Natalia Dominguez). But those aspirations are shattered after a violent run-in with an echo from his past. Then chapter four ends things on a glorious gonzo note as local NBA legend turned kung fu killer Eric “Sleepy” Floyd (Jay Ellis) unleashes vengeance on a dirty cop (Ben Mendelsohn) and his minions in a blood-splattered ode to 1970s blaxploitation.

While the final two segments give the movie the dramatic jolt it desperately needs, they can’t make “Freaky Tales” work as a cohesive whole. Their intentions are good and obvious, but Boden and Fleck struggle to provide a compelling narrative through-line. As a result their film comes across as inspired yet disjointed and unfocused. Not even Tom Hanks popping up as a crusty video store owner can save the day. “Freaky Tales” is now showing in select theaters.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS