Starring: Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Misha Osherovich, Celeste O’Connor, Nicholas Stargel, Emily Holder
Director: Christopher Landon
Release date: 2nd July 2021
It’s a few days before Homecoming, and four teenagers are celebrating at one of their houses. There is talk of a serial killer known as the Blissfield Butcher, who attacks and kills people around the time of Homecoming each year. It’s not long before one by one, each of the teens is murdered in a pretty horrific way. The owner of the house is an exotic art collector and has many artefacts in display cases. One such artefact is a mystical dagger, and when the owner of the house returns, he finds his daughter murdered and the dagger missing.. We then meet Millie (Kathryn Newton), a seventeen year old teen who is unconfident and prone to bullying. One day after school, her mum fails to collect her and she is left waiting in the dark.. A tall and shadowy figure appears, wearing a mask and holding a knife. She runs for her life but he is too fast and soon he has her pinned to the ground. It’s midnight, he stabs her.. a shadow covers the moon and there’s a flash of lightning. Someone turns up and scares the Butcher away. Millie is safe but there’s something very different about her..
This new movie from Blumhouse (The Invisible Man, Ma) is a bit of a surprise really. Looking at the poster and the title, you assume that it’s something in the vein of the 80s movie, Freaky Friday where a mother and daughter swap places. You’d be very very wrong! Though the very basic premise is there, I think you’ll find it hard to think of another film where this scenario has happened.
The Butcher (Vince Vaughn) is murderous, ruthless, and hungry for the kill and his transition into Millie’s body is very believable, even down to the way she walks and carries herself whilst stalking her prey. Vince Vaughn is the perfect choice to play this psychopath who suddenly finds himself transported into the body of a teenage girl. He captures Millie’s essence perfectly and is great in both roles. Kathryn Newton is fantastic too and is definitely coming into her own as a leading actress.
Fans of extreme violence and bloody killings will most definitely love this film. Some of the killings are unbelievably graphic (circular saw) and admittedly I covered my eyes for that particular scene. I was a little bit surprised that the body count was as low as it was but I guess the story takes precedence.
As someone who is not really a horror fan (I love Stephen King though) I was actually really surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie. Great story, great acting and some gory violence that will probably make you laugh out loud in places, makes this one to watch on the big screen. A great movie for a first date. 😉
Overall: 8.5/10
