3/7/2024 0 Comments Suzan Ray freaky mood![]() In one of the most deftly handled subplots, Millie – as a man – finally gains the courage to reveal her crush on a jock in school and, despite her masculine shell, the pair continue to flirt and even, in one impressively handled scene, kiss. Its progressive nature is noteworthy yet casual, Landon understanding that young characters don’t need to over-explain and justify their wokeness to be woke (a lesson last year’s heinous remake of Black Christmas failed to figure out). View image in fullscreen Kathryn Newton in Freaky. While as a lumbering 6’5” man, Millie gains strength, physically and emotionally, the film making for an oddly effective argument for the importance of combining both masculine and feminine energies. Those who demean Millie, such as a creepy, callous teacher (played by Alan Ruck) or the boys who try to take advantage of her sexually, are instant targets when she turns killer as a man discovers just how other men treat young women, violent rage the obvious response. Body swap films have often found room for light commentary on class and gender yet Freaky pushes just that bit further, beyond the obvious reveals (although yes, urinating while standing is a superpower Millie discovers), updating the formula with a cool contemporary edge. In a slick cold open, Vaughn’s infamous killer slaughters a group of teens in a variety of inventively gnarly ways, establishing an “anything goes” tone that trickles down to their equally free-spirited exploration of gender and sexuality. While Happy Death Day ultimately crumbled within the restrictive nature of its neutered, sleepover-ready PG-13 rating (a film with so many deaths yet so little blood), Landon, and the co-writer Michael Kennedy have convinced Universal, and horror factory Blumhouse, to let them run riot with an R this time round, an important, fan-friendly upgrade they make the most of from the very first scene. Her attacker, notorious local legend the Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn) stabs her with a magic dagger that causes their bodies to switch by the next day … Friday the 13th. But when Millie is thrown to the ground, something else happens. When she sees a creepy figure late at night, she runs while also resigned to the fact that, knowing her luck, she is going to be killed, always the supporting character, never the lead. ![]() At home, she is dealing with the loss of her father and a mother who isn’t coping while at school, she is the put-upon football mascot, bullied by girls and rejected by boys (somehow the most far-fetched element in a film about a mystical body swap is that Newton is an awkward, unattractive nerd). High schooler Millie (Blockers and Big Little Lies rising star Kathryn Newton) is not exactly comfortable in her own skin. And this is what is most refreshing about his work here, that he doesn’t just rely on his gimmicky elevator pitch to sell an entire movie but instead delves deeper, elevating a “what if?” punchline into something surprisingly substantial, even soulful perhaps, a rare Saturday night schlock horror with more on its mind than mere mayhem. The classic being thrown into the blender on this occasion is Freaky Friday, explaining the otherwise off-putting title, with Landon swapping the bodies of killer and victim – a smart conceit that also yields even smarter results. Like the writer-director Christopher Landon’s 2017 sleeper hit Happy Death Day, Freaky is a throwback slasher spliced together with the plot of a much-loved family-friendly comedy and while his murder loop Groundhog Day homage was patchy but pacey enough (and a masterpiece in comparison with its God-awful sequel), second time proves more of a charm, creases smoothly ironed out. But if you do have a chance to see it, safely, and modestly, on the big screen (it’s forgoing a multi-platform premiere), then I still recommend it highly, for even an imperfect consumption will provide more pleasure than most films have this year, a November surprise that we all truly deserve. Its entertainment value is bittersweet, as thrilling to watch as it is melancholy to think on, another wistful reminder that communal experiences such as the cinema are difficult, if not impossible, in many places, to come upon at this moment. There’s a stinging sense of cruelty to just how much fun one can squeeze from the high-concept comedy horror Freaky, a film that most of us won’t get to enjoy with the large, audibly reactive audience it so demands, a giddy crowd-pleaser that will only get to please the smallest of crowds.
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