Freaky is an awkward love child between Freaky Friday and Friday the 13th

 

(Image courtesy of rogerebert.com)

The 2020 slasher/comedy Freaky had generated a lot of hype since the release of its trailer sometime last year in the midst of the pandemic. The hype was perpetuated further by the casting of Vince Vaughn as a serial killer that swaps bodies with a high school teen in a Freaky Friday-esque movie with a PG-13 twist. 

When Asian Does Horror sat down to watch this, we had zero expectations because we truly wanted it to be an enjoyable experience. Not since Brawl in Cell Block 99 has Vince Vaughn wowed us with his on-screen performance and we were hoping that Freaky would replicate that. 

Sadly, no. It was a mediocre presentation by the 1.96 meter tall actor acting feminine that anyone could have pulled off. We're not blaming his acting entirely on him though . The casting for the lead female role could have been better as well. Kathryn Newton as Millie was just your A-typical actress without any quirks and it left Vaughn very little to work with when portraying her after swapping bodies. 

But before we go into the criticisms, let us just explain what Freaky is all about. 

It's easy to be bullied when you're hotter than the rest of the popular girls. (Image courtesy of Product Placement Blog)


Freaky stars Kathryn Newton as Millie Kessler, an awkward high school teenager navigating the rough, and at times brutal, hallways of high school life. She's not social, not popular and very often timid, and because of that, she's regularly bullied. At the same time, Blissfield, the town they're living in, has an urban legend about a serial killer called the Blissfield Butcher. Unbeknownst to Millie and her two friends Nyla and Josh, the Blissfield Butcher, played by Vince Vaughn, is real and has already started wreaking havoc. During one of his murder sprees, the Blissfield Butcher murders a bunch of high school kids at one of their homes and retrieves the La Dola, an ancient Aztecean ceremonial dagger with supernatural powers. 

One night, while Millie is stranded at her high school football field waiting for her mother, she is attacked by the Blissfield Butcher who uses the La Dola to stab her in the shoulder. After a cool CG ritual signifying a supernatural occurrence had taken place, both Millie and the Butcher awake to find that they've switched bodies. 

The movie transpires interestingly enough, but not surprisingly, as both Millie and the Butcher have different agendas; Millie has to race against time to switch their bodies back while the Butcher is just enjoying his newfound anonymity as a teenage girl, free to murder unsuspectingly as he pleases. 

Extra credit never looked so good. (Image courtesy of reeltimeflicks.com)


Aside from the acting, the simple, straight forward storyline left much to be desired. It plucked choice bits from slasher movies and spent a lot of time focusing on the now-swapped Millie (in the body of Vaughn) trying to get the people around her to believe and trust her. However, after that was sorted, the time the movie spent splitting between scenes of Vaughn and Newton in their new respective roles was adequate. 

There were some choice scenes that we were happy with including the CG scene of the Aztecean ritual and the murder scenes, but other than that, there was little that allowed Freaky to stand out from movies in either the comedy or slasher genres. We're glad we went in with zero expectations and it allowed us to be somewhat entertained. Also, we liked the production quality, but that's about it.

All in all, Asian Does Horror gives Freaky 👻👻👻 ghost emojis out of five. 
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Medium is an atmospheric mockumentary love child from two brilliant minds

Image
  The love child of Banjong Pinsanthanakun and Na Hong-Jin, raised with so much love and attention. (Image courtesy of kompas.com) Horror movie royalty. From L-R: Na Hong-Jin and Banjong Pinsanthanakun. (Image courtesy of zapzee) When news first surfaced that Na Hong-Jin and Banjong Pinsanthanakun were collaborating for a new horror movie, we were stoked! Even if you're not a horror movie buff, you must have heard the movie "Shutter" circling throughout conversations and recommendations of the scariest Thai horror movies out there.  I know many friends that still tread carefully around the movie deeming it one of (if not)  the  scariest horror movie they've ever watched. And for good reason. Shutter propelled the already established Thai horror movie genre into international acclaim, even earning a Hollywood adaptation. A straightforward plot of revenge from the afterlife, Shutter was beautifully edited to include multiple twists and turns that kept viewers on their ...
Read more

Penunggang Agama should've, could've, would've been better through nepotism

Image
  Do all hospital workers have to wear a songkok? (Image courtesy of iluminasi.com) The Yusof Haslam family has long been making waves in the local Malaysian cinematic environment. The patriarch, Datuk Dr. Yusof Haslam, successfully cemented himself in the annals of local 90's movies and television with hits like Sembilu, Maria Mariana and Gerak Khas, before taking a step back and collecting producer fees on trash projects like Bohsia: Jangan Pilih Jalan Hitam and KL Wangan. Which to his credit, is a genius move, btw - unofficially retire from directing with your list of box office hits and let others destroy the quality of local cinema.  Following in his footsteps is prodigal son (literally), Shamsul Yusof, who has proven that nepotism can get you far in this country. But also to his credit, Munafik and Munafik 2 were pretty phenomenal.  Now enter Syafiq Yusof, the third installation in the Yusof Haslam movie franchise. A new name to carry on the family brand of "if I ma...
Read more

ROH (2020)

Image
Cinematographically pleasing, but still lacking in various aspects. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia) Before I begin this review, those who are interested to watch this movie must, MUST remember that it's an indie arthouse horror flick. It's produced by Kuman Pictures, a low-budget film company that is relatively new in the industry, but supported by veterans in both the filmmaking industry and the writing industry.  ROH is directed by Emir Ezwan and is set in the past. It tells the story of a small family (a mother and her two children) living in the forest who were one day visited by a mysterious child. This child laid the foundation for all the events that transpires throughout the movie.  It doesn't take long for the story connected to the child to unfold, but this movie is a slow burn and those expecting fast paced dialog and scenes will be severely disappointed.  From the beginning of the movie to the end, the cinematography was spectacular. The play on lighting and sym...
Read more