Freaky – A Ridiculously Fun Body-Swap Slasher (Early Review)

Let’s face it, Freaky is the kind of film that will not be for everyone and that’s okay. Its promotion built the film up as another ridiculous slasher movie masquerading as a body swap comedy. Based on the track record of Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U‘s Christopher Landon, the film is in good hands therefore despite an admittedly ridiculous premise, it amounts to a self-aware experience that is an absolute blast to watch. It doesn’t try to be anything more than it is which makes it easier to buy into. However, don’t expect any kind of explanation for what is happening (why would anyone expect that in a film like this?) as it is best for audiences to simply surrender to the craziness about to take place over the course of its surprisingly brisk 100+ minute running time. Just keep in mind that it does leave quite a body count in its wake, definitely earning its 14A/R rating.

As mentioned, Freaky is a body swap story that found a young high school girl named Millie (Newton) swap bodies with a deranged serial killer known as the Blissfield Butcher (Vaughn). Meanwhile, Millie faced the news that she had less than 24 hours before the change became permanent. While the brutal Blissfield Butcher was a thing of legend within the community over the years, Millie could not be any more different as an outcast within her own school and family. The known commodity versus the relative known let alone the middle aged man versus the teenage girl issue certainly made for an interesting set of contrasts that only got more wild post-swap. That adjustment period brought a familiar set of challenges but the film handled those in a hilarious (more often than not) and deep way. Though a lesser film would have arguably just ran with the former, the fact that it tackles both and for the most part succeeds, sets it apart from most, if only to somehow ground all of that craziness.

While Freaky may merely be the novelty of the young girl and middle aged man serial killer swap on paper, what made it stand out was what it did with the premise. The film faltered whenever it strayed too far away from it. Ultimately, the inner conflict for both characters was very different from one another but seeing they and those closest to them each handle their new bodies was entertaining to watch. Though their new bodies may not have changed the people they were, suffice it to say that they took them in different directions with each essentially navigating the others’ life and the challenges that came with them while one of the concerned parties had a vested interest in maintaining their new status quo. This positioned them on an inevitable collision course that only got even more insane though in the best possible way before tying it all together in a satisfying way.

In the end, the best part of Freaky and what made the film work as well as it did were the stellar performances from Vaughn and Newton as the Blissfield Butcher and Millie respectively as well as a sharp script that never went off the rails. Each playing what amounted to two drastically different roles showed was an obvious showcase of their range, demanding each go to the opposite ends of the spectrum of their characters while maintaining the mannerisms of the other. Vaughn was both menacing and downright vicious and also hilarious to watch as the killer, getting to channel his inner teenage girl. Newton was a relatable teen girl and an absolutely cold-hearted psychopath, leaving her own body count.

Overall, Freaky won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, not that is has to be, but is a film for diehard horror fans and one that is sure to find a cult following.

still courtesy of Universal

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.