Blumhouse Productions usually puts out two types of horror films. The serious ones with tons of crappy jump-scares or the goofy concepts taken with some seriousness while putting comedy alongside. Horror-comedies as a whole aren't common with the studio, except for the ones made by Christopher Landon, a longtime writer and director who has made the"Happy Death Day" films. Although the sequel did stumble in places, Landon got back up on his feet by trying the same horror twist on another comedy classic. Millie Kessler is the typical outcast in high school due to her reclusive nature that was caused by her father's death a year ago. When a notorious serial killer known as "The Blissfield Butcher" tries to kill her the night before homecoming, the two swap bodies the following day. Millie now has to deal with the killer's reputation and get her friends to trust her while the Butcher is enjoying the ability to kill others without raising suspicion. Much like Landon's previous works, the premise is more or less the real hook of the movie rather than the overall narrative. The story has plenty of issues to make fun of, with a key example being the Aztec dagger that swaps the character's bodies being translated by someone speaking Spanish. However, the film is aware that there's a lot of nonsensical aspects to the story and it's really hoping viewers just look past it and have fun, which it manages to succeed in for the most part. The tone is obviously more on the comedic side with the various references to popular horror films as well as the chemistry between the characters. While not all of the jokes work, a good portion do.
Vince Vaughn is hands-down the best actor in the movie. His sheer height and menace makes him a pretty threatening villain, but his transformation to the insecure Millie is simply excellent and allows him to offer his comedic talents and energy to the film. Kathryn Newton is good as the cliched role of Millie, but her transformation to the Butcher is really good as Newton has to rely on her body language and facial expressions rather than relaying on dialogue much. The side characters are also enjoyable for the most part. Celeste O'Conner's Nyla is good as Millie's supportive friend, while Misha Osherovich's Josh is fantastic as the very gay and horny best friend of Millie. Katie Finneran as Millie's depressed mother is great given her limited appearance, and Uriah Shelton's Booker makes for a decent love interest for Millie with an interesting turn in his character. While there are plenty of enjoyable characters, there are also a fair share of unlikeable ones. Char, Millie's cop sister, is pretty annoying as she barely acts like a good officer and the chemistry with her and Millie is not as strong compared to Millie and her mother. There's also the various bullies and victims of the Butcher that get killed off during the film. While the actors and actresses are doing a good job, those characters are written to be complete assholes to cheer on their deaths. Even though their writing works fine for the result, some like Millie's wood-shop teacher and the jocks go overboard in how overly despicable they are. Regardless, the main cast of characters are pretty entertaining with Vaughn stealing the entire film as his role of Millie in the Butcher's body.
Landon's directing is not overly ambitious or stylized, but it's completely serviceable for the type of movies he makes. The fictional town of Blissfield is well-established as a feasible location that feels natural and homey for both the characters and viewers. Landon knows how to have this sense of warmth and glow in the daytime scenes and heavy use of shadows and natural lighting in the nighttime scenes. The standout locations have got to be the haunted-themed mini-putt course and the rave in the old mill with the use of vivid colours. The cinematography by Laurie Rose is pretty standard for the most part, although there are some nice use of angles and zoom-outs every now and then. The music by Bear McCreary offers a decent score that borders on traditional horror music one would come to expect, but the dramatic music that plays whenever Millie is feeling happy or sad is way too sappy, even for me. The practical effects and gore is great with some creative kills and very low uses of CGI, aside from a weird moment during the initial stab between Millie and the Butcher. Considering that this is Landon's first R-rated film, I hope he continues to make more to have more outlandish kills and effects. Overall, Landon's directing isn't mind-blowing stuff for the genre, but it's pretty good overall.
"Freaky" is a decent horror-comedy that might have even been one of the best if more things were tweaked. The story has its fair share of issues, not every joke lands, Char and the victims are pretty unlikeable, and the camerawork and score from Rose and McCreary are decent, but could have been improved on. Despite this, I won't lie that I had a lot of fun with the movie. The premise is as entertaining as it could get, the tone is wonderfully light-hearted and comedic while also serving as a love letter to the horror genre, Vaughn is amazing as Millie in the Butcher's body, Newton is great as the silent and intimidating Butcher in Millie's body, the side characters are memorable with good performances all around, the gore and kills are both well-made and creative by the use of prosthetics and witty writing, and Landon's direction is great at creating otherwise homey environments that are overcome by a sense of dread and use of colour/lighting. Even though a rewrite or a touch more creativity on certain elements could be appreciated, I think Landon is on the right track in his vision and career.
Verdict: 7.5/10. Pretty good, but had potential to be even better than it already is. Hopefully the proposed sequel could still happen with Landon on board.
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