Audiences were deprived of a crossover between Freaky and Happy Death Day in 2020, but a new horror project stands ready to fill the void. 2017’s Happy Death Day breathed new life into the horror-comedy subgenre. The movie, which follows a college student doomed to repeat the day of her murder over and over in a Groundhog Day-esque time loop, scored critical praise for its inventive script, as well as an impressive $125 million on a budget of just $4.8 million.
One film that owes an overt debt to Happy Death Day is 2020’s Freaky. Likewise borrowing the premise of a high-concept Hollywood classic, the film follows a teen girl who undergoes a Freaky Friday-esque body switch with an adult serial killer. While Happy Death Day and Freaky initially seemed prime fodder for a crossover, economic factors and complicated schedules got in the way. Nevertheless, one of the minds behind Freaky has ensured that fans of the highly specific sub-sub-genre will be satisfied this holiday season.
The Happy Death Day/Freaky Crossover Plan Explained
Christopher Landon Directed Both Films
Happy Death Day and Freaky have plenty in common; Freaky screenwriter Michael Kennedy even explains (via Midwest Movie Maker) that he was inspired to write the screenplay after watching director Christopher Landon’s Happy Death Day. Once Landon himself came on board as the director of Freaky, the connection became even stronger. Kennedy soon realized that the films, tonally similar horror comedies, which both blend a classic Hollywood concept with the slasher genre, could easily cross over. Around the time of Freaky’s release, Kennedy pitched his idea for a Happy Death Day and Freaky crossover to Christopher Landon.
Landon was excited at the prospect of seeing Happy Death Day’s final girl, Tree Gelbman, and Freaky’s possessed teenage serial killer Millie, face off. Yet Freaky’s underwhelming box office ultimately stalled the crossover plans; while the film’s mid-pandemic $18 million box office on a mere $6 million budget is nothing to be sniffed at, it doesn’t reflect enough interest to justify a Freaky follow-up. What’s more, with Landon confirmed to be directing the upcoming Scream 7, it’s now unlikely that the director will have time to think about other projects.
The Freaky Writer’s Upcoming Film Can Cap Off An Unofficial Trilogy
The Movie Is Directed By Tyler Macintyre
In screenwriter Michael Kennedy’s newest project, It’s a Wonderful Knife, a teen girl who wishes she had never been born sees visions of an alternate reality in which the serial killer she stopped is allowed to run rampant through the town. It’s a Wonderful Knife takes obvious inspiration from the high-concept classic It’s a Wonderful Life, Just as Happy Death Day does with Groundhog Day and Freaky does with Freaky Friday. The planned Happy Death Day and Freaky crossover may no longer be happening, but with It’s a Wonderful Knife, Kennedy is delivering a worthy successor and capping off an unofficial trilogy of high-concept slasher retellings.
The Christmas horror movie starring Justin Long may not have received the same positive critical reception as movies like Happy Death Day and Freaky, but it has the potential to find extended viewership through the holiday season. It’s a Wonderful Knife opened to around $600,000 in its first weekend (via Bloody Disgusting). However, if the film can get to digital or streaming in time for when the holiday season celebration truly ramps up, Kennedy’s movie could become a must-watch for horror fans this December.
