Freaky (2020)
Universal
Directed by: Christopher Landon
Written by: Michael Kennedy, Christopher Landon
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Celeste O’Connor, Misha Osherovich, Emily Holder
The Vince Vaughn Show
Blumhouse has found yet another horror trend to capitalize on, that being a popular subgenre and putting a horror spin on it.
First it was Groundhog Day with “Happy Death Day” and now it’s Freaky Friday with….you guessed it, “Freaky.” Audiences will go for the concept but stay for Vince Vaughn’s incredible performance. He, and he alone is the sole reason to give this movie a watch because outside of his performance, this is a very safe and unrisky horror movie.
For better or worse, if you loved “Happy Death Day” then you will love “Freaky.”
Vince Vaughn is a National Treasure
As stated before, Vince Vaughn’s manic and self-aware performance is enough to give this movie your hard-earned time and money.
Thee man has been in the industry for over 30 years but never has he had this much fun in a role before. He is giving it his all by trying to channel his inner Jumanji Jack Black impersonation and he completely pulls it off. He is pitch perfect with his comedic timing yet when the script requires him to be menacing, he pulls it off with ease and terrifying vigor.
Simply put, Vince Vaughn is having the time of his life, delivering a treat for both his acting career and audiences alike. Again, his performance is the sole reason to check this film out…….
…….because the rest of the movie is meh.
Sadly, the rest of the movie is everything we’ve seen 10 times over before and it’s even more disheartening considering the unique premise here.
Outside of Vince Vaughn, all of the other characters are simply uninteresting and bland. Yes, there is occasional fun to be had with several of the high school characters and there are a few instances to allow. Katheryn Newton to shine as the body-swapped serial killer, but those are few and far between. Any scene where Vince Vaughn is not acting like a scared 14-year-old girl is when this movie becomes extremely uninteresting. The kills are boring, there’s not enough risk taking with the plot and at the end of the day, it’s just a safe and forgettable spin on the body swapping genre. Nothing more.
Outside of Vince Vaughn, there’s simply not enough to keep audiences engaged and this film will quickly be forgotten in due time.
Final Verdict
There’s not really much to say about “Freaky,” you go for the concept but you stay for Vince Vaughn’s performance. It’s just unfortunate that such a great premise is wasted, especially when the cast is trying so hard to make something special.
They’re just aren’t enough risks or freshness added to this concept to make it unique. It’s literally just Freaky Friday but as a slasher and the uniqueness ran out with “Happy Death Day.” Going forward, One can only hope that when Blumhouse is given a unique premise, they actually attempt to push the boundaries rather than to make a quick buck.