Freaky (2020)

Directed by: Christopher Landon | 103 minutes | comedy, horror | Actors: Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Celeste O’Connor, Misha Osherovich, Emily Holder, Nicholas Stargel, Kelly Lamor Wilson, Mitchell Hoog, Dana Drori, Katie Finneran, Alonzo Ward, Dustin Lewis, Jennifer Pierce Mathus, Uriah Shelton, Melissa Collazo , Zack Shires

A teenage girl and her mother who magically switch bodies; the novel ‘Freaky Friday’ by the American Mary Rodgers has captured the imagination of many since its publication in 1972. Despite the fact that Rodger’s book wasn’t original—in fact, it’s a retelling of F. Anstey’s novel “Vice Versa: A Lesson to Fathers” (1882), but starring mother and daughter instead of father and daughter. son – ‘Freaky Friday’ has already inspired several filmmakers. Disney made a version starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster in 1976 and did the same trick again in 1995, starring Shelley Long and Gaby Hoffmann. Perhaps even more famous is the 2003 film, in which Jamie-Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan change shapes. This version also comes from the Disney stable. Of a completely different order is ‘Freaky’ (2020), by writer-director Christopher Landon. The good, mild humor from the earlier films has been replaced by top-notch horror comedy. Anyone familiar with Landon’s ‘Happy Death Day’ films will have an idea of ​​what he did with Rodgers’ classic body swap theme.

The main character in ‘Freaky’ is teenage Millie Kessler (Kathryn Newton), who is in her senior year of high school but finds it difficult to focus on further education because she is concerned about her mother (Katie Finneran). She has thrown herself into the bottle since her husband, the father of Millie and her older sister Char (Dana Drori), died and Millie does not dare to leave her alone. She’s not exactly one of the popular girls at school, but thanks to her best friends Nyla (Celeste O’Connor) and Josh (Misha Osherovich), she still has a safe base. However, safe… Her hometown, the town of Blissfield, is rocked by a quadruple murder spree and the ruthless killer – who goes by the name The Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn) – primarily targets teenagers. And at the stroke of midnight on Friday the 13th (how could it be otherwise…?), Millie seems to be his next victim. But the mysterious murder weapon he brought with his previous… killing spree has obtained and now wants to use, turns out to have magical powers. During his attack, the souls of Millie and The Blissfield Butcher switch bodies. The next morning, Millie wakes up in a gigantic and strong man’s body and has to convince her friends that she is in it. The Butcher suddenly looks like a young, innocent-looking teenage girl but in no time knows how to use that body to continue his murderous urges. Millie and her friends must find the magic dagger within 24 hours and stab The Butcher with it, or the metamorphosis becomes irreversible.

‘Freaky’ starts with a bloody quadruple murder, treats the viewer to (mostly effective) scares and The Butcher – in whatever guise he does – adopts rather creative and ruthless ways to take his victims’ lives. Those slasher elements are carefully blended with the gimmick of shape-shifting and gender-swapping that yields entertaining comedic moments. Where Vaughn could have gone off the rails with that big body, he remains neat in his role as a teenage girl. The clichéd jokes about peeing while standing and testicles are surprisingly unforced, and the puppy love between Millie (in Vaughn’s body) and “goody two shoes” Booker (Uriah Shelton) is even endearing. Conversely, the body swap also works for Newton, who suddenly has a killer instinct and quietly but confidently heads for her target. The fact that The Butcher now has to make do with a lot less muscle power, of course, takes some getting used to. It is precisely this gimmick that distinguishes ‘Freaky’ from the many teenage horror and slasher films that producer Jason Blum has fired at the cinema audience in recent years (this film also comes from the Blumhouse Productions stables). The presence of Vaughn, who has thrown himself on this role with visible pleasure, also attracts attention. Amazing how he manages to avoid the pitfalls that lurk here.

The working title for this film was ‘Freaky Friday the 13th’, and that title sums it up perfectly. Of course it’s not all that deep and although Landon has found a different approach here, the concept of the metamorphosis can no longer be called original. But thanks to a well-balanced mix of comedy and horror and a cast that has a lot of fun, ‘Freaky’ has an above-average entertainment value.