‘I want my body back…’
Ahh yes… the body swap movie. A classic trope. Rehashed every few years or so, and always predictable, if entertaining. A horror body swap movie you say? Hmmm… now that is interesting…
Millie (Kathryn Newton) is a normal teenager with normal teenage problems. She endures mild bullying from the local mean girls, boys don’t notice her, and her teacher hates her. This all happens against the backdrop of a terrifying killer – imaginatively named the Butcher (Vince Vaughn) – stalking the town of Blissfield. When a magical dagger causes the two to switch bodies, hilarity, and buckets of blood and gore, ensue.
One of the reasons body swap movies are so popular is that they give the actors starring in them a wonderful opportunity to play against type and have a lot of fun. Anyone who has seen Face/Off, for example, knows how entertaining this concept can be. So what of Freaky? Well, both Newton and particularly Vaughn have a wonderful time in mimicking each other, both throwing themselves into their respective roles with gusto. Director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day) packs Freaky full of nods and winks to other slasher movies whilst also poking fun at the body swap genre more generally.
Vince Vaughn makes for both a wonderful heartless killer and a delivers a surprisingly accurate portrayal of a teenage girl, and Newton matches him every step of the way with a confident and assured performance. The supporting cast do less well ranging from the annoying (Misha Osherovich) to the forgettable (Uriah Shelton) with only Alan Ruck managing to raise a smile as a gleefully vindictive teacher.
Freaky suffers a little from falling between two stools, it is neither frightening enough or funny enough to be a classic in either genre – horror or comedy – but as an amalgamation of both, it is still mostly successful. The kind of film that you thoroughly enjoy while it is on, but then never think about again. Often, that is all that is required.