I’m at the stage where if I see ‘Blumhouse Productions’, I’m happy. They’ve had some huge hits in recent years and I think there’s no doubt it’s because they support movies that embrace bold choices; more on that later. First, how would I describe this movie?… It’s essentially Scream… mashed in with Freaky Friday of course… and then there’s some Child’s Play in there, if you look at the voodoo dagger and the murders by an unexpected attacker… with a take on high school modernity from a female perspective, a little like Booksmart, I suppose. It’s fun, it’s fresh, it’s familiar; it’s fantastic.
The Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn) is the serial killer of Blissfield (great town name, by the way). He is thought by some to be legend, until he ignites a killing spree on some unsuspecting drunk teenagers one night, coming across an ancient dagger. Little does the Butcher know that if he uses the dagger to stab his next victim, he will swap bodies with them forever… unless the mystical curse can be reversed in 24 hours. Enter Millie Kessler (Kathryn Newton); a shy high school student, with a secret crush on a boy in her class, loveable friends, and a family still coming to terms with her father’s death. Sitting outside the school sports stadium at night, Millie’s Mum forgets to pick her up, and the Blissfield Butcher can’t resist an easy kill.
The opening scene for this movie is an idea that the Scream franchise would lament that they didn’t get to first; you snooze you lose, and Freaky has struck gold. The first third of Freaky is pretty much a totally perfect updated version of Scream anyway – the meta-humour from the guy worried he’s going to get ‘killed’ for dropping the bottle of wine, c’mon. Our scream queen’s friends are now diversified (black and gay), and the students of Blissfield High are more desensitised to violence than ever, when it comes to the news of their fellow classmate’s deaths. It makes sense – gore exists in the privacy of our own homes for this generation; they’ve probably been watching Game of Thrones or American Horror Story on streaming services since they were twelve. The most important priority these days, is making the tragedy relatable on Snapchat and squeezing out a few more likes on social media; I love it. Even the Blissfield Butcher has risen to the occasion – he isn’t falling down every five seconds like a ghost-faced killer; you lock a glass door to keep him out and he’ll walk straight through it. Prepare to be ended by more inventive methods than a mere knife too. I do adore Scream, if you couldn’t tell, so go with me on this when I say – the first killer chase scene is in a house, like in Scream. Another takes place through a theatre stage, like the finale of Scream 2. Scream 3 is understood to be the weakest in the cannon, so I’m saying the haunted arcade house is its corresponding scene. And Freaky’s final party is at the Old Mill, like the secluded barn in Scream 4. I’m calling homage – fight me.
I thought the weakest story beat was the stuff was between Millie and her Mum working things out in the changing room, but everything else is dy-no-mite. Millie embraces the physical power that comes with the height and strength of being a middle-aged man, and it takes her love interest Booker (Uriah Shelton) to remind her that her true strength comes from within, and she doesn’t have to be so shy all the time. On the other side of the curse, the Blissfield Butcher now hides in plain sight, and loves constantly being wrongly perceived as non-threatening because he looks like a teenage girl. Even the stupidest rapey jock, after seeing his friends get murdered, still confronts the girl he perceives to be Millie instead of running away in fear; what a dick. The movie also acknowledges how the Blissfield Butcher needs to account for his lack of physical strength now, and how that is frustrating. But where there’s a will there is a way, and he still finds the means to fulfil his desire to massacre.
Vince Vaughn sells his part as Millie tremendously, and probably goes on a Vince-Vaughn-style rant only once; every other moment with him is dedicated to contributing to making this a great teen movie. I don’t know about your screening, but the most animated my fellow moviegoers got during this movie, was in the backseat of the car – that’s all I need to say about that. As I said at the top, this is a movie that isn’t afraid to go for it. It knows what it is, and it knows what it wants to be, and it is completely okay with presenting its vision. I was thoroughly impressed by this movie’s brazenness and levity.
HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD – The death sequences are wickedly gruesome, but if you’re looking for a meaningful body count, it’s pretty mild. Nobody that died wasn’t an asshole. Early on, when Millie’s friend Nyla (Celeste O’Connor) was being a terrific emotional support, I was like, ‘man, it’s really going to suck when she bites the bullet.’ And Josh (Misha Osherovich) has charisma for days – when a plan is made, he is adamant he is going to die this time, but the movie doesn’t call him on it, and ends up retaining a solid line-up of good guys. I’d say Freaky is a comedy first, and a horror second, and that’s all well and good if that’s your take, but part of the kick to the guts in Scream is that the good guys get picked off too; with how engaging Millie’s friends are, if just one of them went, as an audience member, I would have felt it. A friendly death also would have added bigger gravitas to the situation of having an unhinged murderer running around with the freedom of a school girl.
Also, when Josh demands the police shoot the Blissfield Butcher straight away, I was certain the movie was going to Us us. Did they reverse the curse in time, or is the Blissfield Butcher about to take Millie’s body to college, while the real Millie bleeds away in an ambulance? I think the movie missed a golden opportunity to leave us in suspense. Yet, considering we get an extra scene of cat-and-mouse near the end, the movie at least misses an opportunity to have the Blissfield Butcher terrorise the three friends for a little bit longer – Nyla, Millie and Josh are celebrating getting the curse reversed, but guess what, there’s now a hulking serial killer standing in front of you, so what’s you going to do about that? You better run. The police finally shoot him; yeah good plan, but we could have held that tension a little longer… Golly, there’s two paragraphs of nit-picking the story, but it’s interesting to discuss ideas and I do it with love; I have a hunch we’ll be loving on Freaky for a while to come now anyway.
If there’s a fun movie to welcome us Victorians back to the cinemas, then this is indeed it. Gather your friends and have a good time. I wonder if serious movies will take a hit after the stressful year that has been 2020, in lieu of pulp escapist flicks like this one. If so, let the future begin with Freaky.
4.5
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