Freaky (2020)

Movie Name/Year: Freaky (2020)
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Thriller
Length: 102 minutes
Rating: R
Production/Distribution: Blumhouse Productions, Divide/Conquer, Cinemundo, Toho-Towa, United International Pictures (UIP), Universal Pictures Argentina, Universal Pictures Canada, Universal Pictures International (UPI)
Director: Christopher Landon
Writer: Michael Kennedy, Christopher Landon
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, Alan Ruck, Uriah Shelton, Melissa Collazo, Zack Shires, Magnus Diehl
 
Blurb from IMDb: 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.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
Blumhouse is a divisive production company. Pretty much every movie-minded person I know either loves or hates them. There doesn’t seem to be many who fall in the middle. I think, even though their films can be hit or miss, I fall more on the ‘love’ side of things.
 
As a company, Blumhouse tends to prefer taking familiar storylines and delving into them on a ‘yeah, but what if?’ platform. I’ve always liked that kind of thing. I mean, my favorite DC arc is Superman: Red Son (2003) and I went nuts for Marvel’s Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe (2012). Seeing a kind of alternate universe depiction of something otherwise overdone and predictable, does it for me. That’s Blumhouse’s specialty and, even when they fail, it’s almost always worth a shot.
 
When Blumhouse came to the question: ‘What if Freaky Friday (2003) was a horror film?’ – you know I was here for it.
 

I had a very clear idea of what to expect from Freaky and I absolutely got everything I pictured and then some. It was fucking hilarious with a touch of cringe and some ridiculously creative kills.
 

From the very start of the movie, you’re introduced to the tone.
 
You know that – although you’ll be watching teens die – there’s not going to be much seriousness involved. It’s going to lean more toward the humorous aspect than horror. I respect the upfront honesty, even though it was what I figured the situation would be.
 
Especially from the director of Happy Death Day (2017), Christopher Landon (Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, Viral, Disturbia).
 

As the movie went on, there were some more subtle bits and pieces that made me think of horror classics.
 

Particularly Scream (1996).
 
There’s this thread of self-awareness that Freaky has that makes me feel like it’s inspired by the idea of Scream. It outright acknowledged problematic stereotypes and tropes, then made fun of them. It paid homage to a lot of other films from horror, as well. It was both a love letter, and a roast, of the genre.
 
And it works.
 
I adored Freaky. There were a few minor issues here and there, but nothing that I really felt hurt the film. It was just an amusing trip through a ‘what if’ story. I’m glad I got to see it.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 85%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 81%
Metascore – 66/100
Metacritic User Score – 7.5/10
IMDB Score – 7.0/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4.5/5
 
Movie Trailer: