This time Vince Vaughn is the serial killer the Blissfield Butcher who trades bodies with teenage girl Millie (Kathryn Newton). Millie has yet to come into her own and is still dealing with the long dark shadows cast from a family tragedy. Her mother drinks too much while her sister hides in her job as a police officer.

Most of the film’s humour arrives via Vaughn’s acting chops as he plays a giddy teenage girl trapped in a scheming psychopath’s body and to amusing effect. The victims he/she polishes off are quite a cliche bunch but that does little to dampen the fun when they go down for the count.

Featuring a not always comfortable mix of gratuitous bloodshed and teenage troubles, Freaky is still an entertaining way to bring the week to a close. It breaks little new ground but does well with the parts it has in play. This Friday, give your loved one a dozen black roses and a good time at the cinema.

Rob Hudson
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Seventeen-year-old Millie Kessler (Kathryn Newton, Blockers, HBO’s Big Little Lies) is just trying to survive the bloodthirsty halls of Blissfield High and the cruelty of the popular crowd. But when she becomes the newest target of The Butcher (Vince Vaughn), her town’s infamous serial killer, her senior year becomes the least of her worries.

When The Butcher’s mystical ancient dagger causes him and Millie to wake up in each other’s bodies, Millie learns that she has just 24 hours to get her body back before the switch becomes permanent and she’s trapped in the form of a middle-aged maniac forever. The only problem is she now looks like a towering psychopath who’s the target of a city-wide manhunt while The Butcher looks like her and has brought his appetite for carnage to Homecoming.

With some help from her friends—ultra-woke Nyla (Celeste O’Connor, Ghostbusters: Afterlife), ultra-fabulous Joshua (Misha Osherovich, The Goldfinch) and her crush Booker (Uriah Shelton, Enter the Warriors Gate)—Millie races against the clock to reverse the curse while The Butcher discovers that having a female teen body is the perfect cover for a little Homecoming killing spree.

The film also stars Alan Ruck (HBO’s Succession), Katie Finneran (TV’s Why Women Kill) and Dana Drori (Hulu’s High Fidelity).

From the deliciously debased mind of writer-director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day, the Paranormal Activity franchise) comes a pitch-black horror-comedy about a slasher, a senior, and the brutal truth about high school.

Freaky is written by Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy (Fox’s Bordertown) and is produced by Jason Blum (Halloween, The Invisible Man). The film is produced by Blumhouse Productions in association with Divide/Conquer. The executive producers are Couper Samuelson and Jeanette Volturno.
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