Blumhouse Productions gets Freaky on Friday the 13th

Blumhouse Productions’ Freaky is headed to a theater near you on Friday, November 13, and here is what we know so far.

Freaky is an anomaly for these times, just based on the fact that it will be released on big screens, rather than VOD. Let’s face it, theaters are so empty right now that you can practically see tumbleweeds blowing through them. Most new releases are being made available through streaming, and the really big ones have had their release dates held up due to COVID-19 shutdowns.

A Quiet Place II, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It were all slated to have been released in the past few months, and all have been re-scheduled to premiere between March and June of 2021. Blumhouse and Universal are taking a big risk by choosing to release Freaky in theaters while most states are still in partial shutdowns, but the advance buzz on the film is actually pretty positive.

Freaky is co-written and directed by Christopher Landon, who also wrote three of the Paranormal Activity Films and Disturbia, and directed Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U. In fact, the premise of the new film is slightly similar to Happy Death Day, which was a big success for Blumhouse Productions.

Freaky is a bit of a horror movie take on Freaky Friday (it was originally to be titled Freaky Friday the 13th), and it stars Vince Vaughn as Barnie, a serial killer known as the Blissfield Butcher. When he attempts to murder high school student Millie (Kathryn Newton) with what turns out to be a magic dagger, he and Millie end up switching bodies.

While the meek, petite Millie becomes a tall, imposing man, Barnie must convince everyone that he is a high school girl, so there is plenty of potential for humor mixed with murder. And just imagine how much easier it would be for Barnie to slaughter high schoolers if he appears to be one of them, right?

With an R-rating, it’s expected there will be plenty of bloodshed in Freaky, and Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton are no slouches in the acting department. Let’s cross our fingers that Freaky will be successful enough that it will entice other studios into releasing films as they were intended to be released: on the big screen.

Will you venture into a theater to see Freaky when it premiers next week? Let us know why (or why not) in the comments section.