WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Freaky Tales.

The ending of the genre-blending retro ’80s movie Freaky Tales combines the four interwoven chapters and various characters into a satisfying and explosive conclusion. Although Pedro Pascal’s Clint doesn’t come to center until Chapter 3, “Born To Mack”, he ends up on a collision course fueled by revenge with Ben Mendelsohn’s duplicitous character, simply named The Guy. The entire city of Oakland in 1987 is energetically sourced by a mysterious, glowing green force that can be said to be the soul of that particular era. It arrives in tears, pupils, microphones, weapons, and various other modes throughout Freaky Tales.

After the punks, Lucid and Tina, enact revenge on Troy and the Nazis, and Entice and Barbie – collectively known as Danger Zone – one up legendary Oakland-based rapper Too $hort in a rap battle, we meet Clint on the last day of his job as an enforcer. Clint listens as movie store owner Hank, played by none other than Tom Hanks, lists off his top 5 underdog movies, leaving the last one unnamed (it’s 1979’s Breaking Away, if you’re wondering). Clint finds himself with nothing to lose after Antonio, looking to avenge his father’s death, shoots Clint’s pregnant wife, Grace. This pulls him back into business with The Guy, who plots to rob eight Golden State Warriors players during their playoff game against the Lakers.

Sleepy Floyd’s Revenge-Fueled Killing Spree Explained

With the ᴀssistance of the late Angus Cloud’s Travis, The Guy orchestrates an extreme robbery operation targeting eight Golden State Warriors players as they battle the Los Angeles Lakers during Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals on May 10, 1987. Eric Agustus “Sleepy” Floyd was an actual NBA player on the Warriors who ignited for a career-high 51 points that night, cementing himself as a legendary figure in Oakland. Sleepy’s mother had eaten one too many H๏τ dogs and returned home with Sleepy’s girlfriend, who were both sH๏τ and killed by two of The Guy’s robbers upon entry.

Sleepy Floyd wastes no time in enacting his revenge on The Guy and the Nazis, using the power of Psytopics – a mindfulness program he promotes throughout Freaky Tales – to seemingly astral project himself into The Guy’s house. Sleepy Floyd goes full Kill Bill on the Nazis inside The Guy’s house, starting with the long-haired blonde biker guy who has previously given Clint an ultimatum to do one last job. Floyd makes his way through the house killing dozens of Nazis with knives and swords, only to use the metaphysical power of Psytopics to jam The Guy’s gun and explode him into oblivion.

The Real Meaning Behind “Sleepy Floyd Is Superman!”

Before Sleepy exits, he leaves a message written in blood on a wall inside The Guy’s house that reads, “Sleepy Floyd is Superman!” This refers to the famous broadcast of that NBA game in which announcer Greg Papa exclaimed these words after Floyd’s remarkable comeback performance. The words are given a whole new meaning in the context of Freaky Tales as an injured Troy returns home with some beat up goons from the fight with the punks to discover Clint with his newborn daughter and a whole lot of bloodshed. Clint leaves him with a simple explanation: “Your daddy f–ed with the wrong Warrior.”

How Clint & His Newborn Daughter Ended Up At The Guy’s House

Thinking he has nothing left to lose and nearly taking his own life, Clint tried to hit the road and leave everything behind before he got intercepted by two cops. They take him to the station to identify his wife’s killer, which Clint chooses not to do. After an awkward staredown with The Guy, who is the most crooked cop in 1987 Oakland, a doctor calls to tell Clint that his daughter miraculously survived.

Clint said he would go get her after he did one thing but The Guy didn’t let Clint off the hook. Clint is beaten and unconscious at The Guy’s house while The Guy holds his daughter. It’s unclear what The Guy planned to do with them but Sleepy Floyd’s killing spree inadvertently saved their lives.

The Glowing Green Energetic Lightning In Freaky Tales Explained

The glowing green energetic lightning shown throughout Freaky Tales essentially represents the soul and general vibe of 1987 Oakland. When Antonio sheds a glowing green tear, Clint decides to let him walk free. When a bolt of green light sparks Entice’s microphone, she finds the courage to begin the rap battle against Too $hort. When the green light shines on Tina’s spiky wrist weapon, she knows to hit Tony where it hurts.

Similar to “Michael’s secret stuff” in Space Jam, the glowing green energy in Freaky Tales represents the “special juice” that filled the streets of 1987 Oakland with energy, life, and spirit. It’s also connected to the Psytopics program that Sleepy Floyd endorses.

Why Clint Didn’t Identify Antonio At The Police Station

Clint chose not to identify Antonio as his wife’s killer because he remembered what he had done to Antonio’s father. He already acknowledged the situation as an eye-for-an-eye exchange since Clint was in fact guilty of killing Antonio’s father and ruining the boy’s life. He understood why Antonio wanted him ᴅᴇᴀᴅ and viewed him as just one of likely hundreds of people who lost loved ones by his hand.

Before he leaves the diner, he dramatically says that perhaps it’s time that he starts to bleed, feeling waves of longstanding guilt. The damage has already been done and locking Antonio away for life would have made the scales of justice uneven between them.

How Lucid & Tina Knew To Call Sleepy Floyd About The Robbery

Lucid and Tina, who instill a lot of energy early on in Freaky Tales, come through in a major way in the film’s ending. After overhearing Clint and the blonde biker at the diner talk about the Warrior job, they follow the biker back to The Guy’s house. After hearing what had happened to Sleepy’s family, they somehow got a hold of his phone number and told Floyd where to find the robbers. They finished the call right as they prepared to fight Troy and his gang of Nazis. If it weren’t for that phone call, Sleepy Floyd may never have gotten revenge.

Is Danger Zone Real? Entice & Barbie’s Rap Duo Explained

Danger Zone, made up of Entice and Barbie, is in fact a real female rap duo featured on the Too $hort track, “Don’t Fight the Feeling”, which runs for more than 8 minutes on the Oakland-based rapper’s major label debut album Life Is… Too $hort (1988). The song was not constructed onstage during a rap battle, however, and instead was orchestrated in a recording studio. The album version of the song also features rapper Rappin’ 4-Tay. Danger Zone’s appearance on the song became their most prominent work.

The Real Meaning Of Freaky Tales’ Ending

Freaky Tales is loosely based on true events that are enhanced by many surprising and highly entertaining twists. It is clearly a pᴀssion project of co-director Ryan Fleck, who was born in Berkeley, California and grew up in Oakland. Anna Boden, on the other hand, grew up in Newton, Mᴀssachusetts. Trying to derive a significant meaning from Freaky Tales’ ending would defeat the purpose of the film, which mostly aims to capture the essence and general feeling of a particular place in time.

Unlike Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, Freaky Tales doesn’t try to authentically scrapbook events with a sense of documentary-style groundedness. Freaky Tales is more like Pulp Fiction, creating a unique story world that is dependent on its era and location without trying to replicate it with historical significance. Several aspects of the overall scene in Freaky Tales, such as the punks, the Nazis, and the pᴀssion for Oakland-based sports teams, are rooted in reality. However, most of the action is invigorated by a new, green-glowing life. Freaky Tales also celebrates the nostalgic B-movie cinema of the era, aiming to inspire laughs, thrills, and a distinct Oakland vibe.