This is a fascinating film, and a thoroughly creepy and unsettling one. Forget the plot, the key here is the understated commentary on humanity. It gradually begins to dawn on even the most casual viewer that the monsters here are not the "freaks" the deformed, the damaged, but the morally bankrupt "normal" people.
There are some incredible scenes here, the famous wedding feast, the pursuit through the rain, and the closing sequence, but the movie is best viewed as a whole to appreciate Tod Browning's unnerving vision. Reaction to the film at the time of its release was shock and controversy, and it effectively ended Browning's (who had directed Dracula) career. He made four more films after Freaks, but had to struggle to get each of them produced, and was faced with ostracism in the Hollywood industry.
