The Allmusic review by Dave Lynch awarded the album 4 stars stating "As both player and sole composer, Douglas stands as the unifying force, free to approach the full possibilities of each tune individually, but not at the expense of the overall album's coherence. Quite literally crackling with energy and dense with ideas from the first to the hidden 12th track, Freak In is one of the strongest CDs of his extraordinary career".[2] On All About Jazz Matt Rand stated "For years, Douglas has been involved in all sorts of breaking down and building back up of existing structure. But now Douglas has refined his approach, and has made a record that defines its own style".[3]