Here's everything we know about Freaky, a 2020 Blumhouse film. Director Christopher Landon has confirmed that it's set in the same universe as his previous films, Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U, both of which have a unique day-in-the-life storyline. With Freaky, Landon and co-screenwriter Michael Kennedy once again use a "killer" 24-hour premise.
In pop culture, Landon is perhaps best known for directing the aforementioned Blumhouse movies, but he earned his genre stripes as a found-footage screenwriter. In 2007, Landon and collaborator Carl Ellsworth landed a mainstream hit with Disturbia, a horror movie featuring Shia LaBeouf and The Matrix actress Carrie-Anne Moss. During the past decade, Landon has also written four of the six Paranormal Activity films. Freaky marks Landon's sixth time in the director's chair.
Landon is the son of the late Michael Landon, the star of popular 20th century TV shows like Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven. In fact, Landon's niece, Rachel Matthews, stars in the Happy Death Day franchise and has proven to be one of the horror genre's most promising actresses. With a firm understanding of the Hollywood industry, both personally and professionally, Landon has evolved from a strong screenwriter into a formidable director, and Freaky has all the right components to be yet another huge Blumhouse hit. Here's everything we know about the film so far.
Freaky Cast
Kathryn Newton plays Millie, a high school student who inadvertently switches bodies with a male serial killer. Newton is best known for portraying Abigail Carlson Big Little Lies. She also starred as Allie Pressman in the short-lived series, The Society. Vince Vaughn plays the Blissfield Butcher, a killer who switches bodies with Millie. Vaughn famously starred as Trent in the 1996 indie classic, Swingers. He also portrayed Jeremy Grey in Wedding Crashers and Bradley Thomas in Brawl in Cell Block 99. Celeste O'Connor plays Nyla, Millie's friend. O'Connor has appeared in Irreplaceable You and Selah and the Spades. Misha Osherovich plays Joshua, another of Millie's friends. Osherovic portrayed Simon in NOS4A2 and Shirley T in The Goldfinch. Uriah Shelton plays Booker, Millie's love interest. Shelton portrayed Pratters in 13 Reasons Why and Longwell Chase in Looking for Alaska.
The Freaky supporting cast also includes Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Succession), Katie Finneran (Bloodline, Brockmire), and Dana Drori (The Affair, High Fidelity).
Freaky Story
Based on Netflix's official synopsis, Freaky's premise is straightforward. A teenage girl feels like an outcast, and then must face a much bigger problem when she transforms into a middle-aged serial killer. For general viewers, the genre swap will allow for some clever comedy, and horror fans will most certainly appreciate the pairing of an established star like Vaughn with an up-and-coming female actress such as Newton. Hopefully, the writer-director Landon will offer something new with his screenplay, rather than merely treading familiar ground. Horror fans don't want "safe," they want films that build upon existing tropes. Check out Netflix's logline below:
"Seventeen-year-old Millie Kessler (Kathryn Newton) 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."
Freaky Release Date
Per Deadline, Blumhouse will release Freaky on November 13, 2020.
Freaky Trailer
The official Freaky trailer dropped on September 10, 2020, and suggests that Landon's film will not only have a comedic tone, but will also include some wild imagery.