The premise of Freaky Friday lends itself to be a body swap comedy about what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes. Now, take that same premise but add a thriller layer to it, and you get Freaky. Universal has released the first trailer for Freaky, which comes from the director of Happy Death Day. It stars Kathryn Newton (HBO’s Big Little Lies) as Millie the quiet seventeen-year-old trying to survive the cruelty of high school life. But when she becomes the Butcher’s next target (Vince Vaughn), her life will change. That’s because instead of becoming a victim, the Bucher’s mystical dagger causes them to wake up in each other’s bodies. Now Millie has only 24 hours to reverse the spell before the change is permanent.
Freaky sounds like it’s in Christopher Landon’s wheelhouse. Landon also directed Happy Death Day, which had its main character in a bloody version of Groundhog’s Day. While the concept is different, it puts some killer stakes on a familiar story. And let’s be honest, do we need another wholesome take on Freaky Friday?
Here’s the official plot synopsis:
“Seventeen-year-old Millie Kessler (Kathryn Newton, Blockers, HBO’s Big Little Lies) is just trying to survive the bloodthirsty halls of Blissfield High and the cruelty of the popular crowd. But when she becomes the newest target of The Butcher (Vince Vaughn), her town’s infamous serial killer, her senior year becomes the least of her worries.
When The Butcher’s mystical ancient dagger causes him and Millie to wake up in each other’s bodies, Millie learns that she has just 24 hours to get her body back before the switch becomes permanent. She’s trapped in the form of a middle-aged maniac forever. The only problem is she now looks like a towering psychopath who’s the target of a city-wide manhunt while The Butcher looks like her and has brought his appetite for carnage to Homecoming.
With some help from her friends—ultra-woke Nyla (Celeste O’Connor, Ghostbusters: Afterlife), ultra-fabulous Joshua (Misha Osherovich, The Goldfinch), and her crush Booker (Uriah Shelton, Enter the Warriors Gate)—Millie races against the clock to reverse the curse while The Butcher discovers that having a female teen body is the perfect cover for a little Homecoming killing spree.”
Celeste O’Connor, Misha Osherovich, Uriah Shelton, Dana Drori, Katie Finneran, and Alan Ruck also star.
Landon directs using a script written by himself and Michael Kennedy.
Universal will release Freaky in theaters – hopefully – on November 13, 2020. Which also happens to be a Friday.
