13 Nights of Shocktober: Freaky

 by A.J.

This is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down, and October becomes the month-long celebration of scary movies called Shocktober. So, in the days leading up Halloween I’ll be posting some horror movie recommendations to help you celebrate Shocktober.

Night 11: Meta Horror Night

"Great. We're gonna be killed by Murder Barbie."

Freaky

Freaky is not a scary movie but it is a very entertaining one. There is enough here to satisfy any horror fan and the comedy angle is likely to bring in some viewers wouldn’t typically watch a horror movie. The premise is so simple you wonder why it hasn’t been done before and the result is so fun you’re glad it was finally done. A big, hulking serial killer and his intended teenage victim switch bodies by way of a plot devise in the form of a mystical dagger. A body switch movie needs excellent leads and Freaky certainly delivers on that front with Vince Vaughn as the killer known as The Butcher and Kathryn Newton as Millie, the unfortunate teen.

A title card with a familiar font informs us that the date is Wednesday the 11^th. A group of teenagers talk about murders that supposedly happened but also comment that those urban legends are invented to scare teenagers out of having premarital sex. These teens meet with gruesome and overly elaborate deaths: a wine bottle down the throat, a broken tennis racket slammed back together with someone’s head in the middle (this teen was on a tennis court so what else could they expect to happen). The killer wears a mostly featureless mask reminiscent of Jason from the Friday the 13^th Part 2 (before Jason donned the famous hockey mask in part 3) and Michael Myers from the Halloween movies.

The teenage actors overall are pretty convincing as teens, especially Millie and her friends. Kathryn Newton plays both of her roles very well. Millie has the standard traits of a horror movie protagonist: dealing with grief and trauma (the death of her father and her mother’s new dependence on her company), struggling at home and at school, shy, and bullied, but with a few loyal friends. Newton is able is bring some spark and real sympathy to what would be a cliched character. After the switch, Newton as the Butcher projects the right amount of menace and glee at his newfound situation. The Butcher’s menace is mistaken for Millie's newfound confidence and leads some to amusing moments. There’s nice and subtle dark humor in watching the Butcher (as Millie) scan a room for the best way to kill someone. It’s also refreshing to see that the Butcher’s strength did not transfer, so he becomes frustrated with Millie’s petite body and lack of strength. This forces the Butcher (as Millie) to be more creative with his kills.

The casting Vince Vaughn was a very shrewd and wise choice. Vaughn is an all-around solid actor, has well proven comedic talents, and has a very imposing 6’5” figure. Vaughn is excellent as Millie, humorous but believable. Millie in the Butcher’s body has what ends up being an emotional conversation with her mom and Vaughn is believable in this moment too, which never really sheds its comedic setup. As Millie gets used to her new oversize body there are some funny moments and Vaughn plays a gentle, clumsy giant well. A scene of Millie in Butcher’s body getting to know her crush is what you’d expect but it works: the humor leads to tenderness which leads to humor which makes the characters more sympathetic and relatable.

Freaky is a self-aware horror movie that thankfully never stoops to pandering in place of cleverness. There are visual references to other horror movies like Halloween, the Friday the 13^th movies, Hellraiser, The Shining, but aside from the font of the dates resembling the Friday the 13^th font, the movie doesn’t make a big deal about them. The characters are aware of horror movie tropes and Freaky is better for it. When Millie’s friends are being chased by the Butcher (unaware of the body swap) Josh (Misha Osherovich) shouts to Nyla (Celeste O'Connor), “You’re black, I’m gay. We are so dead!” Her friends don’t exactly have inner lives but they feel like full fledged characters thanks to the young performers.

Freaky has plenty of bloody violence. The kills are graphic and over the top, another nod to the slasher genre (the later Friday the 13^th movies in particular), but doesn’t revel in them. Freaky is something pretty rare, a character driven horror movie more concerned with its characters than kills. Director Christopher Landon, who co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Kennedy, blends comedy and horror in just the right way. There’s a definite love for the genre running through every scene. Freaky understands that horror movies can be fun and puts that front and center.