Whereas typical horror films can be both fun and entertaining, horror flicks that not only incorporate humor into their plots but also manage to switch up the conventional dynamics of what typically goes in a scary flick are even more exciting and special. The key to any successful horror flick is meeting the audiences expectations of it being effectively scary and creepy, while also managing to be surprising in regards to both its storytelling and overall presentation. Examples of such recent horror films that got creative with their plots while mixing elements of horror with humor, as well as science fiction are the recent Happy Death Day films. While those were designed to be traditional slasher flicks, they managed to surprise with the amount of fun both movies appear to have with their plots, along with throwing some Back To The Future into the mix. With a plot like Freaky, the film aims to be a B movie style horror flick in the same vein as 80's classics like Prom Night with the plot carrying both a Freaky Friday and Face/Off style twist to it. While the end result doesn't end up being nearly as well-crafted as Happy Death Day, Freaky still offers large amounts of fun with its concept as well as the fun performances from its main cast, particularly Vince Vaughn in both a scary and hilariously fun role, that comes with a surprise twist. In a movie season that appears to be largely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic with no major Hollywood releases coming forward for a minute, Freaky feels like a much welcomed surprise that proves to be both a creative and slick effort.
The plot for Freaky centers around a young teenage girl Millie (Played by Kathryn Newton), who ends up being attacked by a serial killer named the Blissfield Butcher (played by Vince Vaughn). During their encounter, both her and the killer magically switch bodies while proceeding to wreak havoc on a town while being the other person. The plot for Freaky is not just one that provides solid entertainment, but is full of creativity with it blending multiple genres together while doing so smoothly. The film bears strong similarities to both Happy Death Day films in regards to putting a darkly humorous spin on its concept, while going all Freaky Friday with it whereas Happy Death Day put a fun spin on the slasher concept. One of the key elements that made those films work were the strong yet edgy performances from its cast, most notably Jessica Rothe in the main lead who surprised with her impressive range as an actress. Freaky demonstrates a similar effect from its cast with Kathryn Newton doing very well as Millie. She conveys a similar type of edge that Rothe delivered with Vince Vaughn giving one of his funnest performances in years as the films main antagonist, the Blissfield Butcher. While the acting has much to do with why Freaky is as much fun as it turns out to be, it's also the clever gender-bending and body-swapping twist which accompanies the story, that ultimately makes it a winner. Given that the film could've gone the typical route of today's horror films in regards to relying on an excessive use of blood and gore in order to be satisfying to fans, Freaky bursts on the scene with a different approach that not only manages to switch things up, but does so in a way that's both compelling and admirable in its desire to provide something new for audiences. Although it may not fully live up to its potential of being an effective body swap horror film, Freaky still manages to thrive as being an extremely fun and reasonably gory horror romp, that'll catch horror fans by surprise with its concept that dares to go in a new direction with its slasher type story, while paying homage to classic Friday The 13th 80's style horror.
One of the key elements that makes Freaky work as well as it does in terms of being a solid horror/comedy flick, are the fun and energetic performances from its main cast. The acting has much to do with why the film is so entertaining to watch with the actors helping to create characters, that are both appealing as well as likable. The strongest work comes from both Kathryn Newton and Vince Vaughn in the films main roles with Newton doing a solid job of playing bullied high school student Millie Kessler, whose trying to juggle with the sudden loss of her father along with being consistently tormented at school, and unintentionally switching bodies with the Blissfield Butcher. Newton does an impressive job of playing the vulnerable and sympathetic Millie, along with playing the Blissfield Butcher when they swap bodies. She's able to make her performance believably convincing with her inevitable switch being ultimately compelling to watch. Vaughn does great with his characters switch up from being the aging Blissfield Butcher to becoming Millie. Vaughn effectively portrays the Butcher as being both genuinely creepy, as well as intimidating with his physical presence with him being enormously fun to watch when he switches over to Millie's personality. Both actors do a fantastic job of playing their roles with their switch up being completely convincing. There's a true delight that audiences get out of watching both actors switch parts and play the opposite person. The rest of the supporting cast also manage to deliver fun performances, that make their side characters standout with Katie Finneran as Millie and her sister Char's alcoholic widowed mother Coral. Dana Drori does well as Millie's older sister Char's, a police officer who happens to be completely oblivious to the switch along with her mother. Other notable scene-stealing performances include Millie's trio of friends with both Celeste O' Connor and Misha Osherovich catching the audience eye with their hilariously fun roles as Millie's friends Nyla and her flamboyant gay friend Josh, with Uriah Shelton also playing Millie's crush Booker. Alan Ruck proves effective in his minimal performance as Millie's abusive and unsympathetic wood shop teacher Mr. Bernardi. The cast for Freaky brings a lot of charm and charisma to their parts with the actors all appearing to have a blast with the films concept. They go a long way with making the film delightful to watch, along with keeping the audience in suspense in regards to what happens next.
The films directing by Christopher Landon comes across as being fairly decent with him proving to be effective at generating a horror style atmosphere to the story, while giving it a teen High School feel to it that draws strong comparisons to Freaky Friday. Landon keeps the suspense going with creating a fun atmosphere for the audience to enjoy seeing these characters interact with when they do the swap with the film also earning its R rating, making it stay true to its chosen genre. Landon exercises zero restraint in going over-the-top with the gore department with the editing not cutting away from any of the gruesome shots, along with close-ups of gory wounds being used. The violence also consists of old-school weapons being used in a traditional horror flick such as household items, chainsaws, and cursed knives with the death scenes showing bold creativity behind them. The pacing is well-handled with the story remaining fast-paced, keeping the audience on their feet with Millie's character as she desperately tries to figure out a way to reverse the switch. The editing gives the film a consistent rhythm that separates each major scare sequence in between moments of both character and plot development. The films soundtrack consists of various songs and a score, that effectively adds suspense to the story. The directing by Landon works so well because of his ability to understand the material he's working with, along with rightfully giving it an atmospheric feel which not only draws the audience in but makes it hard for them to lose interest in the plot unfolding. With the R rating, Landon goes all in and embraces the over-the-top goriness of the plot while exercising both craftsmanship and creativity in executing the story. On a technical front, Freaky is a well put together and assembled horror/ comedy flick that looks appealing visually with it carrying a pace that zips along. Watching the film, one feels that Landon crafted the story as being a romantic letter to classic 80's slasher flicks while giving it a surprising level of heart with the stories emotional core, and a generational upgrade with its story in regards to certain character tropes. While Landon's work doesn't rank as being John Carpenter status nor Wes Craven's in regards to craftsmanship, he does a solid enough job of making the story work as being a homage to those directors works, while being effective on its own.
The screenplay by Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy is notably strong for its ability for blend multiple genres together, while giving audiences characters that they can grow to care about and ultimately survive the mayhem. The character of Millie is well established as being a sympathetic figure that audiences can get behind with her characters switch up being a great twist in the story. All of the key characters are fairly developed with each person getting their opportunity to shine in the script. Some of the themes that Freaky dives into consists of loss, death of a loved one, grief, bullying, letting go, moving on, and ultimately growing up. The script for Freaky does an admirable job of exploring these themes while adding an extra layer to its story besides being just a mindless horror flick. In the midst of the films main spectacle, lies a thoughtful message about moving on from losing a loved one with the film showing how both family and friends are essential needs in one's life. Another area where the script does well in is leaving the backstory of the Blissfield Butcher ambiguous with the audience not knowing a whole lot about him other than just urban legends and gossip being spread around. The scripts main issue where it finds itself struggling is the supernatural aspect of the story regarding the possessed knife, that carries the power to swap people in different bodies. While the concept itself works in regards to explaining the films key plot point with both Millie and the Butcher becoming the opposite person , it can often become a bit cheesy and forced for the audience to digest. The script for Freaky carries with it camp (Particularly within the death scenes), which its never ashamed of nor attempts to shy away from with the audience getting their maximum moneys worth in regards to being entertained. The films dialogue stands as being one of its strongest points with it being full of snarky lines and random bits designed to erupt enormous laughter from the audience such as Millie's friends proclaiming that they're "black" or "gay" when being chased by what they presume to be the Butcher, but is actually Millie inside his body trying to explain the situation to them. While some of the dialogue comes across as being a miss such as the "biting beavers" bit in describing the High School football team mascot, most of it works with much of the humor landing while adding to the fun camp nature of the story. The script also makes it a key point to show the inventiveness of the killer whether it's Vince Vaughn or Vaughn in Millie's body with his character shown as being resourceful, as well as creative in finding different ways to off those he comes into contact with such as the use of a toilet seat. Whereas many horror films find themselves struggling within the writing department, Freaky thrives in numerous levels while breaking down gender barriers by placing LGBT characters front and center with Millie's friend Josh carrying some of the films most memorable lines, along with Nyla giving African-Americans a more predominant role in a horror film. The script for Freaky is one that's brilliantly well-written with it clearly being shown to have lots of fun exploring both its concept and characters, but also serves as a film that's self-aware of the culture its surrounded by.
There's much for audiences to enjoy with Freaky as it carries both a unique and thoughtful plot, that proves ideal for horror style entertainment. What really makes the film work so well is the charisma of its main cast with Vince Vaughn being totally likable in his part with Kathryn Newton largely impressing with her ability to switch from being regular Millie to corrupt Millie. The story literally takes the concept of Freaky Friday and puts its own spin on it in the style of being a solid horror/comedy flick. Those looking for a horror story that's fresh and exercises genuine creativity will find much to delight in with Freaky's plot, even if it does bear similarities to Freaky Friday, along with catching itself walking a familiar beat to other films with similar storylines (The audience already knows that Millie's friends will be scared of her new transformation at first with them assuming she's the Butcher until she reminds them of personal things that only the real Millie would know). The audience knows these twists as they've already been done before in other films mentioned, but it's the distinct way that the writers and director behind Freaky go about executing the story that makes it feel both fresh once again as well as effective. Freaky may have moments where it comes across as appearing formulaic as well as predictable with its plot, but the overall execution of it along with the energetic performances of its main cast more than compensates for its minor faults. It's a horror film that audiences won't expect much of going in, but will find themselves being thoroughly satisfied by how much fun it is to watch, as well as appreciating the different approach it takes with its story in comparison to the average horror flick. Whereas most slasher films stick to a basic formula with plot elements that often feel generic as well as repetitive, Freaky desires to switch things up and does so effectively. As a film that's designed to be a homage to classic 80's slasher flicks as well as Teen cinema, fans of both genres couldn't ask for a better tribute as Freaky surprises with how effective it is in regards to being solid horror entertainment, while carrying a noteworthy amount of heart.
Final Verdict: Horror fans will be surprised and find much enjoyment in Freaky as it puts a delightfully fun spin on the popular slasher genre.
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