Freaky (with DVD) [Blu-ray] [Standard]

A different approach about a body switching movie. Had some brutal deaths.

Fun comedy horror. Enjoyed Vaughn’s portrayal of a teenage girl.

Does anyone recall a 1976 Disney film (remade in 2003), called Freaky Friday, in which a teenager's mind ends up in her Mom's head (a reverse exchange happens to Mom), producing wacky, family-friendly hijinks? Well, 2020's Freaky isn't *that* film. That said, that's not a bad thing, either. A blend of comedy and horror, Freaky gives us a few days in the life of one Millie Kessler, unpopular girl and human doormat at school, and estranged from her alcoholic Mom at home, running afoul of a serial killer previously thought to be an urban legend, a killer armed with a cursed, centuries-old dagger stolen from one of his victim's homes, one with the supernatural power to cause one person's consciousness to exchange places with another's, a condition which will become permanent unless proper steps are taken to reverse it before midnight on Friday the 13th. That said, the time needed to undo the damage gives the killer (now in Millie's head) time to cause no shortage of carnage, carnage made much easier by the fact that nobody suspects a mousy character like Millie (never mind that she's now dressed to kill--literally *and* figuratively speaking) of being capable of atrocities. And given the abuse she gets in school, the victims (queen bees, jocks, heavy-handed teachers) are not ones whose bizarre fates attract sympathy from the audience. Nevertheless, this state of affairs can't go on indefinitely. Which means Millie has to fall back on the two friends she has, to resolve the crisis. Which is easier said than done, as Millie's soul is in the killer's body; his publicly-known physical appearance understandably makes it difficult to approach her paranoid pals (as well as a high school crush she's too shy to approach under normal conditions). Or to hide from law enforcement, such as her older sister, a police officer. As I said earlier, it's a little hard to define Freaky as either humor or horror, as it freely uses a bit of both, as Millie and friends race against time to undo the curse, the inevitable misunderstandings resulting from body (and gender) swaps either providing fodder for laughter--or cringes. (By the way, as a Wisconsinite, I'm amused by Freaky's shout-out to our state. I won't name names, but a certain figure mentioned about an hour in has been very much in national news, recently.) The poignant domestic drama between Millie and her Mom (her dad long gone) separates this film from the average slasher film, giving it a little more heart than usual, making one emotionally invested in a cast the audience hopes won't die. In this respect, it's similar to the Happy Death Day films, which-- like this movie--are also directed by Christopher Landon. My only nitpick about the film, however, is similar to one I had to 1999's Idle Hands: A lead whose body is possessed by an evil force that carries out murders, but no thought is given to the fact that, win or lose, the evil still committed murders with the body in question, leaving behind fingerprints and DNA that police may well connect to the innocent possessed person. Yes, Millie--at one point--does ponder telling law enforcement "a version of the truth" about the ordeal, but it's still hard for me to imagine what one might say to a judge! Beyond that, I can't complain all that much about the bulk of the film. PS: Despite having seen Kathryn Newton (who plays Millie) on the TV show, Supernatural, from 2014 to 2018 (as Claire Novak), it took me awhile to put two and two together, and realize that she was also the lead in this movie, a pleasant surprise.

One of the best horror films I have seen released in recent years. Love the twist on Freaky Friday. Excellent to see Vince Vaughn in this type of genre

Really good Friday the 13th type of movie, on sale and came with digital code.