Back in 2017, a brilliant movie called Happy Death Day was released and it was a brilliant take on Groundhog Day with a horror twist, now director Christopher Landon brings us a twist on Freaky Friday with the comedy/horror Freaky starring Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton.
I have to say that I wasn’t too sure about the idea at first, let’s face it body swap films are a dime a dozen, but knowing that Freaky is directed by Landon it just gave me a big incentive to go and check out the film in the cinema and after the cancellation of Black Widow in 3D due to a technical issue I could do with something to cheer me up.
OK, so the story of the film is quite simple we start with a bunch of kids kicking back in the house when one by one they are killed off by the “The Butcher” (Vince Vaughn) and they are killed in some pretty brutal ways and all done with a very Jason (Friday the 13th) vibe to it, after slaughtering them he comes upon a mystical dagger that he takes as a trophy for his kills.
Then the story moves to Millie (Kathryn Newton) and her mundane high school life, being bullied and not really fitting in with all the other “cool” kids, one night she is waiting for her mother to pick her up after a football game when she is confronted by The Butcher, in a frantic tussle she is stabbed with the dagger and the two souls swap and all this happens on a rather “Freaky Friday the 13th”!
Now we have Millie in the body of The Butcher and The Butcher in the teenager’s body in the perfect place for him to cause mayhem and murder!
This is where the fun begins for Freaky, if that the right term to use, Vince Vaughn moves from the serial killer to a bizarre portrayal of the teenager being in his body and it works with great comical effect, there are some great moments of the character trying to convince Millie’s friends that Millie is now in The Butcher’s body. There are some rather weird moments as well look out for a scene in the back seat of a car with Vaughn as Millie and the boy she likes, it’s very weird but comically done so well.
On the other side of the tracks is The Butcher who in Millie’s body really goes to town with his murderous ways, if you think the opening sequence of murders was quite bloodthirsty you ain’t seen nothing yet, without giving too much away there is a scene where The Butcher in Millie’s body murders someone in such a way that I know I shouldn’t have laughed but my gosh it’s one of the best death scenes I’ve seen in a horror/comedy for many years.
Director Christopher Landon has brought us another fun movie to watch, I love the twist on the Freak Friday idea and both writers Landon and Michale Kennedy have really taken an old idea and given it a new twist and freshness that makes this one of the best comedy/horror films that I’ve seen this year, so far.
If you enjoyed Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U then check out Freaky which is in cinemas now.
A great twist on the body swap films
Movie title: Freaky (2020)
Movie description: After swapping bodies with a deranged serial killer, a young girl in high school discovers she has less than 24 hours before the change becomes permanent.
Date published: July 12, 2021
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 42min
Director(s): Christopher Landon
Actor(s): Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Celeste O'Connor
Genre: Horror, Comedy, Thriller
Summary
If you like Happy Death Day and happy Death Day 2U plus comedy horror movies then this is certainly a movie to check out.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
