"Live Freaky! Die Freaky!" review

Live Freaky Die Freaky (2003)

Directed by John Roecker
Writing credits John Roecker


Billie Joe Armstrong.... Charlie (voice)
Theo Kogan.... Hadie (voice)
Jane Wiedlin.... Squeaky (voice)
Asia Argento.... Habagail Folger (voice)
Kelly Osbourne.... Sharon (as Kelly Posbourne)

I was hanging out in Amoeba music on Sunset one day when “Live Freaky! Die Freaky!” caught my eye. I was there looking for something weird to watch. You don’t go to a place like that to get a mainstream flick. A claymation movie starring Charles Manson sounded just warped enough for me. So I bought it.

“Live Freaky! Die Freaky!” tells the tale of how Charlie and his family might be revered as saviors one day in the future. A nomad picks up a copy of “Helter Skelter” and tries to decide if Manson was a devil or an angel. Then the movie flashes back on the clay puppets and their nasty antics in L.A.

“Live Freaky! Die Freaky!” feels like it was made to kick Hollywood in the nuts. It also strives to be as offensive as possible in the process. Manson and friends decide to stick it to the man by killing “that pig actress Sharon Hate”. His girls do what they’re told and carry out every order he gives them. You know, like brutally killing people for laughs, doing the creepy crawl on his schlong and having sex with him whenever he says so.

Now I’m not one who is easily offended, but there was one thing that sticks in my mind as offensive. It’s only offensive because I hate imagining that the animators thought that they were hilarious.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Did we really need to see the decapitated head of the gay hairdresser suck his own severed penis? Did we really? Was that truly necessary? That image is now burned in my brain. Congratulations to the filmmakers. You have now offended the very hard to offend.

*END SPOILER*

Anyway, other than that, I enjoyed this movie. It felt like it was made to strike back against all of the rich Hollywood pigs that have looked down their nose at the millions of normal people who populate L.A. There are two different images of blood washing over the Hollywood sign in this flick. Charlie even sings a song called “Mechanical Man” in which he says, “Together we’ll make Hollywood fall”.

Overall, I enjoyed this exercise in bad taste. “Live Freaky! Die Freaky!” is worth a look if you’re in the mood for something nasty. Oh, and I loved the music. “Mechanical Man” is a catchy tune. I’ve been playing it in my car for the last couple of days:

“I’ll give you the heads up…
Come on and get your legs up…
This is called the Family Jam!”

SCORE: 3 out of 4 maniacal Hollywood killing puppets

"Do you have a taste for sex...

and blood and hate or...

really good LSD?"