Taglines: Basic switch. Killer new look.
Freaky Movie Storyline. Seventeen-year-old Millie Kessler (Kathryn Newton) spends her days trying to survive high school and the cruel actions of the popular crowd. But when she becomes the latest target of the Butcher (Vince Vaughn), the town’s infamous serial killer, her senior year becomes the least of her worries. When the Butcher’s mystical dagger causes him and Millie to magically switch bodies, the frightened teen learns she has just 24 hours to get her identity back before she looks like a middle-aged maniac forever.
Freaky is a 2020 American slasher comedy film directed by Christopher Landon, from a screenplay by Michael Kennedy and Landon, and starring Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Katie Finneran, Celeste O’Connor, and Alan Ruck. A twist on Freaky Friday, the film centers on a teenage girl who unintentionally switches bodies with a middle-aged male serial killer. Jason Blum serves as a producer under his Blumhouse Productions banner.
Freaky premiered at Beyond Fest on October 8, 2020, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 13, 2020, and internationally on July 2, 2021, by Universal Pictures. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised Vaughn and Newton’s performances, as well as the blend of horror and comedy.
About the Story
Four teenagers are discussing urban legends of a serial killer known as the Blissfield Butcher. The Butcher breaks into the mansion they are in and promptly murders the group of teenagers before leaving with an ancient dagger known as La Dola. The next day, bullied high school student Millie Kessler attends the Blissfield Valley High School homecoming football game, where she performs as the school mascot.
As Millie waits for a ride home near the now-empty school, the Butcher attacks her. He stabs Millie in the shoulder with La Dola, causing an identical wound to instantly appear on his shoulder. Millie’s older sister Charlene, a police officer, arrives and scares off the Butcher. The police collect La Dola as evidence and initiate a manhunt for the Butcher.
The following morning, the Butcher and Millie discover that they have switched bodies, and they both make their way to Blissfield Valley High School. At school, the Butcher, now posing as Millie, kills Millie’s chief tormentor Ryler by locking her in a cryotherapy tank in the girl’s locker room. He realizes his innocent appearance grants him immunity from suspicion and fatally slices woodshop teacher Mr. Bernardi, another one of Millie’s tormentors, in half with a table saw. Millie, now in the Butcher’s body, finds her best friends Nyla and Josh and proves her identity to them by performing the school mascot’s dance routine and answering a series of personal questions. Nyla and Josh research La Dola and discover that Millie must stab the Butcher with the dagger by midnight or else the body switch will be permanent.
Later that afternoon, with the school’s official homecoming cancelled, the Butcher suggests a new dance be held at an old mill that is actually his hiding place. The Butcher subsequently lures Millie’s crush Booker into a monster mini golf course to kill him, but Millie, Nyla, and Josh arrive just in time to save him. Millie knocks both the Butcher and Booker unconscious, and she and her friends bring the two to Josh’s house.
After tying the Butcher to a chair, Millie and Nyla try to explain the situation to Booker, who remains unconvinced until Millie recites a love poem she anonymously wrote to him weeks earlier. Josh watches over the Butcher while Millie, Nyla, and Booker drive to the police station to obtain La Dola. Nyla tricks Charlene, the last officer in the station, into leaving so she can steal the dagger. Waiting outside in the car, Booker reveals that he has always liked Millie, and Millie divulges how she enjoys the newfound strength and confidence she feels while in the Butcher’s body, and they kiss.
Freaky (2020)
Directed by: Christopher Landon
Starring: Kathryn Newton, Vince Vaughn, Celeste O’Connor, Misha Osherovich, Uriah Shelton, Dana Drori, Katie Finneran, Alan Ruck, Melissa Collazo, Dustin Lewis, Nick Arapoglou
Screenplay by: Christopher Landon, Michael Kennedy
Production Design by: Hillary Andujar
Cinematography by: Laurie Rose
Film Editing by: Ben Baudhuin
Costume Design by: Whitney Anne Adams
Set Decoration by: Tim Pope
Music by: Bear McCreary
MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody horror violence, sexual content, and language throughout.
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release Date: October 8, 2020 (Beyond Fest), November 13, 2020 (United States)
Views: 209
