Vince Vaughn playing a 17-year-old teenage girl is a casting choice that nobody would ever have expected. It’s something you’d never think you’d get to see but it’s glorious. Not only does Freaky indeed have Vince Vaughn playing a teenage girl but it’s also the absolute standout of the filmand it makes the film incredible entertaining and enjoyable.
The film puts a twisted take on the body-swap movie as it sees 17-year-old Millie Kessler (played by Kathryn Newton) swapping bodies with the terrifying serial killer known as The Blissfield Butcher (Vaughn). Millie is a quiet, awkward teenager who’s just trying to make it through high school when she gets stabbed by her town’s infamous serial killer’s mysteriously mystical dagger. The two end up swapping bodies and Millie (now trapped in Vince Vaughn’s body) has less than 24 hours until the switch is permanent and they’re stuck in each other’s bodies forever.
It’s a really great premise, it’s Freaky Friday meets Friday the 13thor Scream or pretty much any other slasher film. The reason why Freaky works so well and is such a good film is because it gets the blend of genres absolutely spot-on. It’s a horror-comedy but it manages to fulfil both of these genres perfectly. Very often when films try to straddle the line between these two genres it ends up falling very much to one side with it either being very funny but not particularly scary, or really scary but you’re not laughing at all. Freaky manages to land right in the middle.
It manages to be scary, it feels tense and it’s got some gory kills; exactly what you want from a slasher film. The opening scene immediately sets the rules and establishes itself as a slasher with quite a few brutal kills. But as well as the horror, it’s also really funny as well. There are numerous moments that will leave you laughing out loud in the cinema. Most of the jokes do come from the body-swapping and from the comedy that comes from a 50-year-old man trapped in a teen’s body and vice-versa.
All the jokes land thanks to Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton’s incredible performances. The two leads look like they’re having so much fun in their roles and they’re both so good and really make the body swapping feel so much more believable. It’s directed by Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day), and it does feel a bit similar to the two Happy Death Day films except everything’s been turned up a notch. The kills are more gruesome, it’s much funnier and it makes for a much more entertaining and enjoyable film. All the kills and the comedy land in just the right way and it all hits the mark so well that you cannot help yourself but be swept away by the film’s fun. It really is infectious and it’s so exhilarating.
It’s a furiously entertaining 100-minute thrill ride that’s begging to be watched over and over again because it really is just so much fun. The cast elevate this strong concept and fulfill its potential making it a joy to watch. The only slight problem with it is the ending. Whilst it’s not a bad ending, it feels almost as if it has two endings. Without diving into spoilers, the film reaches a natural conclusion but then keeps going for a little longer when perhaps it didn’t need to.
If you like slasher films and a good laugh it’s impossible not to love Freaky. It’s got kills, it’s got comedy and it’s a killer time. And of course, Freaky also has Vince Vaughn playing a teenage girl, something no other film has.
★★★★★
Freaky is released in UK cinemas on Friday July 2nd.
The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie material being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Genre: Horror
Release Date: 6 October 2023 in theaters / 27 October 2023 on Shudder
Director: Demián Rugna
Writer: Demián Rugna
Distributed by: IFC Films & Shudder
Production Companies: Shudder, Aramos Cine & Machaco Films
Thanksgiving | Official Trailer — In Theaters November 17, 2023
After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the infamous holiday.
The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie material being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Genre:
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Release Date:
November 17, 2023
Director:
Eli Roth
Cast:
Patrick dempsey, Rick Hoffman, Gina Gershon, Addison Rae
Plot Summary:
After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the infamous holiday.
The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie material being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Plot
When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.
Sophie Wilde as Mia (A24)
Movie Review
The movie starts off with quite a shocker, leaving you with a few questions. It doesn’t take too long to get into the action and soon you realize you are in for quite a scare. In a nutshell, the movie is about a group of friends playing a timed game where the communicate with the dead using an embalmed hand, and allow the dead to speak through them, with the emphasis on timed. However, as with all rules, some end up broken, and when the game goes on a little too long things go south, resulting in far reaching consequences. The main protagonist in the story Mia plays this game of talking with the dead, while at the same time working through the loss of a loved one as well. As a viewer I experienced her feelings of grief and it felt real because her performance was just next level.
Both Sophie Wilde and Joe Bird‘s performance as Mia and Riley really grips you, making the feelings of fear on-screen real for the audience. The make-up and effects throughout the movie was really done brilliantly. The ending delivers a unique twist making you hungry for more action and story. The cast really brought life in a horror story focusing around the dead.
Talk To Me (A24)
There is no post-credits scene, so no need to wait to the end. Trailer is amazing and delivers an even greater scare and doesn’t spoil any important parts of the movie. My rating for Talk To Me is 5 out of 5. Talk To Me is a bone-chilling supernatural horror that delivers a real scare on-screen, hands down. I’m all for seeing a possible sequel of Talk To Me one day, or even a prequel where the origin of the embalmed hand is unpacked. But the movie is still brilliant as a stand-alone movie.
Make sure to catch it at a cinema near you or watch online.