Freaky: Movie Review

"Freaky" provides an experience that, while to be frank doesn't really break any expectations, delivers an all around fun and funny experience. You'll definitely love it for its comedy and squeamish-inducing gore. It definitely provides enough to not make you feel that you wasted your time or money on it.

Seventeen-year-old Millie Kessler (Kathryn Newton) isn't really the popular kid in Blissfield High. It doesn't help that she lacks any social skills to help her improve her situation. But as fate would have it, she becomes the target of The Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn) - the town’s infamous and gruesome serial killer. The helpless Millie easily succumbs to the Butcher's clutches and when he stabs her inadvertently with an ancient magical knife, and instead of dying, Millie and the Butcher wake up in each other’s bodies the next morning. Millie learns that she has just 24 hours to get her body back before the switch becomes permanent. The real problem now is she looks like the psychopath who’s the target of a city-wide manhunt while The Butcher looks like her and finds himself in the perfect situation to start a killing spree at her school's Homecoming. 

Limited by its body swap concept, "Freaky" doesn't really try to break any molds. In fact, one of the biggest issues for the film was that it felt too predictable and safe when it came to its narrative. It certainly used a lot of industry tropes that came out as unnecessary at times. But beyond its safe story, the film was a whole lot of fun. At the forefront was the performances from Kathryn Newton and Vince Vaughn. It was a hoot to see Vince Vaughn act like a teen girl in the context of his daunting physique while it was as amusing to see the transition of Kathryn Newton to a sadistic murderer. The transitions themselves came out natural and effortless to the point that we forgot that they were just acting the body swap out. Additionally, we also loved how gruesome "Freaky" was. While the killings occurred infrequently, when they do, the film doesn't hold back at all. This was one of those films that can easily make audiences squirm in disgust. Finally, the script was another strong point. Not all jokes will land but most did and we found ourselves laughing out loud from start to finish. "Freaky" delivers well if you just want to sit back and have fun. It's silly at best but what did you expect from a body swap film? At least this time instead of teen romance, you'll get a lot of blood, gore, and laughs in one neat package.       

Rating: 3 and a half reels

Why you should watch it:
- the film was actually quite fun and funny from start to finish

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- it slightly overstays its welcome as the film struggles to put more meat into its premise