Freaky (2020) Review

RATING: 6/10

WHEN you were watching Freaky Friday, did you ever wish the film featured blood and gore? If you are one of these few then I have got a great movie for you.

Small town high school student, Millie (Newton), is feeling insecure as graduation approaches. However, after surviving an encounter with a serial killer known as The Butcher (Vaughn), Millie discovers she has swapped bodies with her assailant.

Alongside her best friends Nyla (O’Connor) and Josh (Osherovich), Millie must find The Butcher and perform a ritual to reverse the freaky effects in less than 24 hours before the switch-up becomes permanent.

Similarities to 1976 and 2003’s Freaky Friday are blatantly obvious, but thankfully the film revels in the comparison by putting a sick twist on the genre through unrelenting carnage and gore.

In typical horror movie fashion, Freaky opens with four teenagers being murdered by The Butcher, setting the stage with inventive kills and self-aware comedy.

We are then introduced to Millie and her friends, who all deliver excellent performances, particularly Newton after she transitions from the victim to the killer in wonderfully campy fashion.

Vince Vaughn also does a great job acting like a 17-year-old girl in a 50-year-old’s body, and although Jack Black in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle did it better, consistently funny writing kept Vaughn’s performance more alive than his character’s victims.

Before entering the cinema to watch Freaky, one aspect I never thought would resonate with me was the cinematography.

Shots such as a lonely tree on a hill panning out to reveal the hole of a high schooler’s doghouse were beautifully executed, bringing an artistic element to the film that didn’t include unique kills.

Freaky may kill it when it comes to mixing humour and mass-murder, but unfortunately the movie drags out the 24-hour-long plot.

Attempts at establishing tender moments between characters, while nice to see, felt unnecessary and absurd in a film where a 17-year-old can break through walls without quarrel.

Freaky will not be everybody’s cup of tea. Copious amounts of blood and obscenities may turn audiences away, but what they will miss out on is an engaging love-letter to renaissance horror films.

Films like Freaky should be looked like a half-filled glass of water. If you focus on the positives such as Newton and Vaughn’s performances, you will have an absolute blast with the film just like I did.