While many movie theaters are still closed around the country, either by state mandate or by choice due to the lack of business, that's not stopping a few films from being released in what feels, in the age of COVID-19, like "the old fashioned way." However, based on reviews it's possible that Vince Vaughn's new horror-comedy Freaky might be worth going out to your local theater, assuming that's an option, as the movie is receiving fairly universal support.
I say "fairly" universal support, because, as is almost always the case, while critics generally fall on one side or the other of any given movie, there will always be those who go the other way. While most seem to appreciate Freaky quite a lot, CinemaBlend's own Sean O'Connell was lukewarm at best on the movie. He gave the film 2.5 stars and in our official review said that while the premise of the movie was solid, in the end, what Freaky does with that premise is far less creative...
The horror comedy delivers exactly what you expected when you saw the trailer, and nothing more. If anything, it overstays its welcome for a forced girl-power conclusion that pushes the already thin credibility of the concept past its breaking point.
The body-swap story is pretty much universally played for laughs, and we've seen more than our share of those movies over the years. But Freaky adds something to the mix by adding a horror element, specifically by making one of the pair of main characters a serial killer. It certainly has the potential to make something that feels very new. Although, as Vulture points out, the horror-comedy is still more comedy than horror, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing...
Freaky whiplashes between the high concept and the sincerely heartfelt, constantly on the verge of rattling off the rails but never quite losing tonal control. It's not an especially scary movie, but it sure is a good time.
Freaky sees Vince Vaughn's serial killer swap bodies with Kathryn Newton's high school student, which means that in addition to seeing a body swap that includes a killer, we're seeing one that swaps both age, gender, and size, which opens up all sorts of comedy avenues, and that seems to work well for most critics. Variety says that Vince Vaughn ultimately works better in this horror-comedy than he does in her previous attempts at straight horror...
Turns out, Vaughn's better at playing a teenage girl than he is at harnessing his inner Norman Bates.
And while many may be of the opinion that Freaky works best as a comedy first, some critics, like ScreenRant, don't fault the film's horror either...
Director Christopher Landon's Freaky is breathlessly stolen by Vince Vaughn, who delivers a character both terrifying and lovable in equal measure.
Freaky looks like a pretty solid movie, which is sort of frustrating, because even if the movie does well, it will almost certainly not do as well as it would have under normal circumstances. Still, if you're willing and able to hit the theater right now, it looks like Freaky might be just the movie you're looking for.
