The horror specialist producer Jason Blum is now back with his latest film, Freaky. Freaky was directed by Christopher Landon, who collaborated with Blum through a unique film, Happy Death Day. With a relatively small budget, US 6 million, Blum again tried his luck by casting young stars who are not yet familiar to the ears, such as Kathryn Newton, Celeste O’Connor, Dana Drori, and senior actor Vince Vaughn. For movie lovers, this story is too familiar, but there is a new touch here.
Ahead of the Blissfield Valley High School farewell party, a brutal murder kills several teenagers. Millie (Newton), who came home late at night during the match, had to deal with the killer. In a critical moment, a strange event occurred. The next day, Millie finds herself changing bodies with the killer who tried to kill her last night. The soul of the killer is now exchanging bodies with Millie. With the body of the killer who is currently being targeted by the police, Millie must race against time not to let “herself” kill the next victims.
The title alone seems to refer to “Freaky Friday,” a fantasy comedy film that tells the story of a mother who changes bodies with her daughter. Whether this was meant as a tribute, but Freaky packed it with a different genre, horror. Even the opening feels very similar to the Friday the 13th series with Jason’s figure. You could say the plot adopts the two film stories above. It’s sure not fresh, but it’s fun!
With supernatural elements as his motive, Freaky effectively played the audience’s laughter through this premise. Millie’s passive and insecure figure suddenly turns cold and looks different at school. Then the killer, who was big and cruel, turned into a gentle figure who looked like a girl. Of course, this transition is more than enough to make the story interesting and entertaining to the audience through both suspense and action. The two cast figures, Vaugn and Newton, work as expected. Of course, this is easy for a senior actor like Vaugn.
Freaky uses old ideas about soul transition, which is packaged freshly through horror and comedy sides. This film offers a lot of ridiculous jokes between the side of the action suspense. Landon is indeed very skilled at playing these kinds of scenes, as he did in Happy Death Day. Unfortunately for us, this film cannot be enjoyed on the cinema screen. You can imagine the laughter and screams of the audience throughout the film. For viewing during a pandemic, this kind of entertaining film feels more appropriate to relieve fatigue.
Stay safe and Healthy!
