Title – Freaky (2020)

Director – Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day)

Cast – Vince Vaughan, Kathryn Newton, Celeste O’Connor, Misha Osherovich

Plot – Mysteriously swapping bodies with serial killer The Blissfield Butcher (Vaughan), high schooler Millie (Newton) teams up with her friends to find a way to get her body and life back, a matter complicated by the fact The Butcher is hellbent on creating as much carnage as possible.

“Cue the creepy dude in a mask”

Review by Eddie on 09/03/2021

Blumhouse’s latest high-concept horror/comedy hybrid Freaky has no right being as entertaining and even inventive as it is at times, as Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon and his having a blast cast enjoy this blood splattered version of Freaky Friday.

There’s nothing truly original about the film and it doesn’t try to cover off any new ground in its body swapping concept but when you have a film such as this so self-aware of what it is and what it’s trying to do, none of that matters with only those wanting to examine elements more than they need to be likely to be disappointed by this fast moving genre mashup.

Wasting little time getting into things as an extremely over the top and insane blood filled opening (death by tennis racquet!) hits us right in the face, Freaky keeps up the pace as shy and quietly spoken high schooler Millie unfortunately finds herself becoming the latest victim of the Blissfield Butcher whose use of an ancient and mystical weapon sees the two souls swap bodies for some hilariously staged hijinks.

While Big Little Lies star Kathryn Newton is fine in her role taking on duties as a devious killer, the real star of this show is a Vince Vaughan doing what he does best as the well over 6 foot tall man mountain does a great job at inhabiting the likeness of a teenage girl in a life and death game of cat and mouse and its the perfect dose of good dumb fun getting to watch the well-liked star doing such silly but enjoyable work.

The film suffers badly whenever its more light-hearted and ridiculous moments take a back seat to odd moments of seriousness about loss and love and you do wish that the film had forgone any attempt to deliver any life lesson moments to instead focus purely on the fun it could have with the body swap situation done the way of a gory horror/comedy, while the films final almost tacked on 10 – 15 minutes feels as though it was a last minute rushed job but its not enough to stop Freaky from being one of 2020’s more enjoyable thrill rides.

Final Say – 

With a game cast and with a sense of playfulness occurring around its central concept, Freaky is a far better film than it had any right being even if its unlikely to be remembered for long once the credits have finished rolling.

3 change room conversations out of 5