Win Freaks vs The Reich on Blu-ray

The circus performers from Freaks vs the Reich. — (Image credit: Dazzler Media)

Don’t be put off by the slightly cheesy-sounding title of Italian fantasy film Freaks vs The Reich – it’s more Guillermo del Toro than Strippers Vs Werewolves.

Set in 1943, it centres on a group of “freaks” with uncanny abilities – essentially carny X-Men – who find work at the Berlin Zircus. A sumptuous show put on by the Nazis, this is the realm of Franz, a German officer with clairvoyant powers who has a premonition of Hitler's suicide, and four beings with superhuman powers who could save the Third Reich...

SFX’s reviewer was impressed by the way the film “balances comedy and darkness, humanity and cruelty, blending moments of wonder with visceral action sequences”, calling it “bewitching”, and “a true tonic for superhero fatigue”.

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The Blu-ray cover of Freaks vs The Reich. — (Image credit: Dazzler Media)

Ian Berriman has been working for SFX – the world's leading sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazine – since March 2002. He's also a regular writer for Electronic Sound. Other publications he's contributed to include Total Film, When Saturday Comes, Retro Pop, Horrorville, and What DVD. A life-long Doctor Who fan, he's also a supporter of Hull City, and live-tweets along to BBC Four's Top Of The Pops repeats from his @TOTPFacts account.