Latest news with #ConorSweeney
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Frankie Freako review – cheap and cheesy comedy horror channels 80s schlock
Canadian writer-director Steven Kostanski has been one of the creative forces behind a bunch of silly-sweet horror pictures such as The Void and PG: Psycho Goreman that appear to skew towards a younger demographic. Or perhaps his target audience is really the gen X crowd that never outgrew its affection for 1980s fare such as Critters or Gremlins, cheap and cheesy schlock reliant on practical special effects. Luckily, the latter happens to be Kostanski's speciality; he's also worked as a prosthetic FX artist on bigger budget films such as Crimson Peak and the TV series Hannibal. All of that comes together for this daft comedy horror farrago, seemingly set in the 80s, about a nebbishy Canadian office worker called Conor (Conor Sweeney). Conor's beige jumper alone bespeaks a man deeply risk averse and afraid of having fun, even when his marriage to Kristina (Kristy Wordsworth) is on the line. Stung by criticism from his pony-tailed boss (Adam Brooks) for one that his presentations on subdivisions lack 'spice', Conor calls a hotline advertising a nebulous but supposedly fun-enhancing service supplied by gremlin Frankie Freako (voiced by Matthew Kennedy). Frankie is effectively a puppet, less than a metre tall, who looks like someone dipped a Muppet in latex, covered it in caustic soda, and then ran a car over it a few times. The phone call enables him – and two less interesting, similarly ugly puppet creatures – to travel across dimensions to wreak havoc at Conor's house, like the Cat in the Hat but without the feline charm or rhyme schemes, but way more fart jokes. At least Sweeney has good enough comic timing to make the thinly written dialogue sound vaguely amusing; he's also adept at making his many reaction shots exaggerated just enough to tickle without descending into outright mugging. Elsewhere, the words 'freak', 'freaky' and cognates from that root are used so often that a drinking game in which players down a shot each time they are uttered would trigger alcohol poisoning after 20 minutes or less. Frankie Freako is on digital platforms from 14 July.
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Frankie Freako review – cheap and cheesy comedy horror channels 80s schlock
Canadian writer-director Steven Kostanski has been one of the creative forces behind a bunch of silly-sweet horror pictures such as The Void and PG: Psycho Goreman that appear to skew towards a younger demographic. Or perhaps his target audience is really the gen X crowd that never outgrew its affection for 1980s fare such as Critters or Gremlins, cheap and cheesy schlock reliant on practical special effects. Luckily, the latter happens to be Kostanski's speciality; he's also worked as a prosthetic FX artist on bigger budget films such as Crimson Peak and the TV series Hannibal. All of that comes together for this daft comedy horror farrago, seemingly set in the 80s, about a nebbishy Canadian office worker called Conor (Conor Sweeney). Conor's beige jumper alone bespeaks a man deeply risk averse and afraid of having fun, even when his marriage to Kristina (Kristy Wordsworth) is on the line. Stung by criticism from his pony-tailed boss (Adam Brooks) for one that his presentations on subdivisions lack 'spice', Conor calls a hotline advertising a nebulous but supposedly fun-enhancing service supplied by gremlin Frankie Freako (voiced by Matthew Kennedy). Frankie is effectively a puppet, less than a metre tall, who looks like someone dipped a Muppet in latex, covered it in caustic soda, and then ran a car over it a few times. The phone call enables him – and two less interesting, similarly ugly puppet creatures – to travel across dimensions to wreak havoc at Conor's house, like the Cat in the Hat but without the feline charm or rhyme schemes, but way more fart jokes. At least Sweeney has good enough comic timing to make the thinly written dialogue sound vaguely amusing; he's also adept at making his many reaction shots exaggerated just enough to tickle without descending into outright mugging. Elsewhere, the words 'freak', 'freaky' and cognates from that root are used so often that a drinking game in which players down a shot each time they are uttered would trigger alcohol poisoning after 20 minutes or less. Frankie Freako is on digital platforms from 14 July.
Sunday World
11-06-2025
- Sunday World
Cops seize large quantity of drugs from €590k Lurgan cannabis farm
Police said a cannabis farm was discovered on the property which housed plants with an estimated street value of €590,000 The PSNI have seized a large number of Cass B drugs following a search of a property in the Colane Road area of Lurgan on Tuesday 10th June. Police said a cannabis farm was discovered on the property which housed plants with an estimated street value of €590,000 and was described as 'fundamentally dangerous'. The PSNI said three men aged 69, 55 and 27 have been arrested on suspicion of the cultivation of cannabis. Detective Inspector Conor Sweeney of the PSNI's Organised Crime Branch said 'This is the most sophisticated cannabis farm I have encountered. 'A substantial degree of engineering and investment has gone into the construction and concealment of this underground facility, which housed plants with an estimated street value of €590,000; however, this set-up is fundamentally dangerous and we have availed of the expertise of several partner agencies to make the site safe for officers to properly examine the scene and remove plants and equipment.' Anyone with information about suspected drug-dealing in their area is encouraged to contact police on the non-emergency number 101. The seized cannabis Photo credit PSNI News in 90 Seconds - June 11th
BBC News
11-06-2025
- BBC News
Lurgan: £500,000 of cannabis discovered in the Colane Road area
Police have made three arrests and seized cannabis with a street value of half a million pounds in Lurgan, County large quantity of the Class B drug was seized from an underground facility at a property in the Colane Road area of the town on Tuesday. Three men aged 69, 55 and 27 were arrested on suspicion of the cultivation of 69-year-old was further arrested on suspicion of allowing premises to be used for the cultivation of cannabis. Detective Inspector Conor Sweeney said it was the "most sophisticated cannabis farm I have encountered". "A substantial degree of engineering and investment has gone into the construction and concealment of this underground facility."
Belfast Telegraph
11-06-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
PSNI seize large quantity of drugs from £500k Lurgan cannabis farm
Police said a cannabis farm was discovered on the property which housed plants with an estimated street value of £500,000 and was described as 'fundamentally dangerous'. The PSNI said three men aged 69, 55 and 27 have been arrested on suspicion of the cultivation of cannabis. Detective Inspector Conor Sweeney of the PSNI's Organised Crime Branch said 'This is the most sophisticated cannabis farm I have encountered.' News Catch Up - Wednesday 11th June 2025 'A substantial degree of engineering and investment has gone into the construction and concealment of this underground facility, which housed plants with an estimated street value of £500,000; however, this set-up is fundamentally dangerous and we have availed of the expertise of several partner agencies to make the site safe for officers to properly examine the scene and remove plants and equipment.' Anyone with information about suspected drug-dealing in their area is encouraged to contact police on the non-emergency number 101.
