Freaky (2020)

Freaky (2020)

 3/10

Starring

Vince Vaughn

Kathryn Newton

Katie Finneran

Celeste O'Connor

 

Directed by Christopher Landon

 

Freaky is a comedic horror movie from Blumhouse Productions—you know, the people who love making B-class horror movies and remakes. Freaky is essentially a Freaky Friday ripoff with a horror spin. It also borrows a lot of elements from Friday the 13th. While I enjoyed Vince Vaughn’s performance in the movie, the film as a whole isn’t particularly spectacular. It’s the kind of movie you can skip through and still understand what’s happening and why.

This is totally a B-movie fest with B-movie performances, and the plot is all over the place. The body switch happens because the killer decides to add robbery to his list of bad deeds. The movie begins with some elaborate murders that are clearly meant to be comedic. From the acting to the lines in the opening scenes—and the overly long intro before things actually start to happen—you’ll need a lot of patience to stick with it. Otherwise, you’ll probably tune out. After the initial murders in a fancy house, the Butcher (a serial killer played by Vince Vaughn) steals a dagger encased in an intriguing display.

Our protagonist is Millie, a high schooler who doesn’t have it easy at school. She’s constantly bullied—not just by the girls, but also by the boys. After a school game, Millie is left waiting alone for her sister to pick her up when she’s attacked by the Butcher. Despite putting up a fight, Millie is overpowered and stabbed by the dagger the Butcher stole, leading to some spiritual nonsense.

As the Butcher stabs Millie, he’s also hurt in the same spot, which startles him. Thankfully, Millie’s sister, who happens to be a police officer, shows up and saves Millie, while the Butcher escapes. The next morning, both Millie and the Butcher realize they’ve swapped bodies. Millie, now in the Butcher’s body, heads to school to find her friends and get help. Meanwhile, the Butcher, loving the anonymity of being in Millie’s innocent-looking body, decides to continue his killing spree.

Millie eventually convinces her friends that she’s trapped in the Butcher’s body. Together, they research the cursed dagger that caused the switch and discover they need to stab the Butcher with it before midnight to undo the body swap.

I didn’t care much for this movie or its brand of comedy. However, for anyone who enjoys brutal killings, there are plenty of those here. The producers don’t hold back on the gore. But for someone like me, who isn’t fazed by gore, it didn’t do much to make the movie more enjoyable.