“Great. We’re gonna be killed by Murder Barbie.”

Justin’s rating: I don’t think you should put a disguised serial killer into shop class

Justin’s review: At this point in my movie reviewing career, I’ve probably watched more body swap movies than is healthy for the average psyche. And I can say that almost all of them are about people spending a day in each other’s shoes to resolve conflict and become more empathic toward each other.

But what if there was a clever twist that smashed together body swap flicks and the slasher genre? Then it’s a whole new ball game, and that game is Freaky. No empathy. No learning. Just a really messed-up situation that brings out some absurdist humor.

Vince Vaughn (Swingers) is the Blissfield Butcher, a masked serial killer who’s really into slaughtering the local teens every so often. But when he steals a mystical dagger and then stabs timid Millie (Kathryn Newton, The Map of Tiny Perfect Things), they end up swapping bodies.

Now the Butcher has the perfect disguise as an outcast teen girl, and Millie is stuck as a hulking older guy who’s being hunted by the authorities and afraid for her family, friends, and fellow students. To up the stakes, it’s the weekend of homecoming — and Friday the 13th to boot.

Cue a suddenly empowered “teen” girl ripping through the student population in all sorts of bizarre ways while Millie-as-a-man has to figure out how to convince her friends of her identity and perhaps use her newfound strength to her advantage. I mean, what would you do if you suddenly body swapped with Jason Vorhees? That’s the concept here, and it’s ripe for exploration.

There’s also a time limit here, because if Millie can’t get her body back within 24 hours, she’ll be stuck as a creepy old guy forever. That’s the dagger rules, I don’t write them.

Both Newton and Vaughn have a good time doing some role-reversal. I’m not the biggest Vince Vaughn fan — take him or leave him, eh — but I can say that he makes for a decent teenage girl who enjoys a good freakout now and then. And Newton is chillingly believable as a vicious killer in nerd’s clothing, although it is kind of funny to see how she also has to struggle with not being as physically strong while her mommy takes away a butcher knife at an opportune moment.

Freaky was written and directed by Christopher Landon, who also helmed my favorite Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U. Like those films, the mash-up of scifi (fantasy?) and horror creates a lot of fun possibilities, and he goes for as many of them as he can. There’s some snarking at high school life and stereotypes, and in a weird way, Millie’s serial killer makeover weirdly works to upgrade her social standing among her peers — at least the ones she leaves alive.

It’s trying to blend laughs and kills, kind of a Tucker and Dale vs. Evil situation. There’s even a dash of family sentimentality, as Millie, her sister, and her mom are getting over the death of Millie’s dad a year prior. But the mixture isn’t quite as good as Happy Death Day. There’s a streak of meanness here that I did not care for, such as a relentless bullying of Millie for no good reason whatsoever.

I was also hoping for a lot more jokes than we got. Don’t get me wrong, Vince Vaughn nails a few really good gags, and some of the kills are so over-the-top that they come off as cartoonish. But it’s not nearly as funny as it could’ve been, especially when the script seems to revert to a straight-up slasher flick for good portions.

Freaky could’ve done more to live up to its potential, but it’s still a lively riff on ’80s slashers and body swappers alike. Plus, it’s not overly long or serious, and that helps somewhat.

Intermission!

• That red Universal logo is disturbing, probably the point
• OK the tennis racket kill was some nice improv on the part of the killer
• That wardrobe is Narnia!
• Alan Ruck is really trying some interesting beard designs these days
• Do all slasher villains automatically know where their victims are hiding? They seem to home in on them like they have a GPS tracker
• The Butcher spitting out the retainer was a funny little moment
• So that’s what a serial killer’s bedroom looks like
• That is a very messy way to eat
• “Are you sure this is safe?” “No.”
• Wait, why is there a cryogenic chamber in the girl’s locker room?
• Tater tots are not effective weapons
• “Standing and peeing is kind of rad.”
• “Guys, you have to see this! It’s like a floppy anteater!”
• When your mom asks you out, it’s awkward
• Haunted house putt putt is a good place for a killer to hide out
• Well of course there’s going to be a chainsaw at some point