In just a few days, Christopher Landon's slasher comedy Freaky will hit theaters, putting a "killer" twist on not only the body-swapping genre, but the horror genre as a whole.
For those who missed the first trailer, Freaky stars Kathryn Newton as 17-year-old high schooler, Millie. She becomes the target of the town's infamous serial killer, The Butcher, played by Vince Vaughn. While it may sound like your typical horror slasher relying on "the final girl" trope, the film actually plays a switcheroo as The Butcher's mystical dagger causes the two to switch bodies, resulting in Millie being placed in the body of the killer and vice versa.
Speaking to IGN, Newton explained how the film subverts the genre's longtime trope of "the final girl" as well as other cliches often seen in horror movies.
"I've been the final girl before. I was Chris Landon's final girl in Paranormal Activity 4. This one is so different because Millie gets to be the killer and, you know, flip it and learn so much about her own power. And then she's her own hero. You really don't see that in horror films. But you still get the satisfying -- if you like horror and you're a fan of the 'final girl,' which I am. I love that, too. It's iconic. So you kind of get that in this movie. That's what I like about Freaky. We kind of crush all the tropes and cliches and destroy them all."
Written and directed by Christpher Landon, Freaky is very similar in tone to Happy Death Day, another comedy-slasher helmed by Landon. Vaughn pointed out that the ability to balance the grotesque horror slasher moments with well-timed comedic beats -- as teased in the trailer -- is something that Landon excels in.
"There's oddly a positive in sort of inhibiting the body of the killer and so the movie kind of has fun with these moments and experiences. I don't want to give away too much but, it's surprising that you hadn't seen this done in a way in this kind of a film. It really takes a direct like Chris Landon, who's so good at horror and comedy and marrying them together that it all fits under one movie and one compliments the other."
Freaky is slated to hit theaters on November 13. It is written by Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy (Fox’s Bordertown) and is produced by Jason Blum (Halloween, The Invisible Man).