Freaky (2020)

Maturity rating: R. Strong violence, sexual content, language.

Genre: Horror, slasher

Release date: November 30, 2020

Director: Christopher Landon

Writers: Michael Kennedy, Christopher Landon

Runtime: 1h41m

Cast: Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Katie Finneran, Celeste O'Connor, Misha Osherovion, Alan Ruck, Uriah Shelton, Dana Dori

Intro

Stories of The Butcher go around every year, but no matter how gruesome and bloody the stories might get, nothing could have prepared Millie for the bizarre event that followed her unfortunate encounter with the killer. After he stabbed her with an ancient knife, they swapped bodies. She soon learns that she only has until midnight to get her body back, or she'll be stuck in a killer's body forever.

My thoughts

This is a true horror comedy. Moments of bloody kills were offset by comedic moments, and I really liked it. Body swapping is a storyline that we've all seen before, but seeing it mixed in to a slasher was a refreshing and fun twist on an otherwise tired trope.

I think Vaughn and Newton did a fantastic job in the lead roles. It was fun to see Vaughn with the mannerisms of a teenage girl. I chuckled to myself frequently during his scenes. Newton also did a great job with embodying the personality and tendencies of a serial killer. I think she did a great job showcasing her acting range, and her acting was definitely a highlight of the film.

I did feel as though some of the relationships were a little underdeveloped, most notably the relationships between Millie and her family. Millie's father had recently passed, and it was touched on a few times that it has been a difficult transition, but it was never delved into. There is a scene where Mille, as the Butcher, is connecting with her mother of the passing of her father, but it felt very superficial to me. A touching moment between mother and daughter for sure, but I didn't feel like it had any emotions behind it to back it up. I feel like having a recent loss in the family didn't really contribute to the plot at all and really could have been left out. If Millie's mom and sister had been more developed characters, I think a strained family unit would have been a good aspect to add to the film. As it is, the recently-dead-family-member background felt like it was added in as a shallow afterthought.

My indifference to Millie's family relationships aside, I did like this film. With the comedy aspect included, it's something of a lighthearted slasher that is a great beginning-of-spooky-season movie, and it is one I will most likely revisit soon.