Control Freak (Hulu)- The Life Coach In This Movie Would Empower You To Watch Something Else
What I can say about Control freak is that it has good audio description. Roy Samuelson is narrating this,and while he’s pretty much his consistent usual strong performer, this is a horror film, so the devil in these details belongs to the audio description writer. For a film that isn’t pervasively gory, but does have fleeting moments, and even some attempts at jump scares, the writing is strong. From describing pus coming out of a wound, to the manifestation of a demon, and an intense drowning flashback, this is a very well written film considering its genre. What it isn’t, is actually scary. it feels like a lot of Hulu movies that somehow are in existence, but aren’t good enough for a theatrical release, nor were they artistic or creative enough for a studio like A24 or Neon to add them to their list of horror titles, and somehow they don’t even get to land on Shudder. Sometimes these films do feature a surprising amount of gore. Both Crave and Mr. Crockett certainly did, and Matriarch has some body horror that stands out. But, aside from prey, I can’t think of a truly excellent horror film saddled with a Hulu launch. Control Freak follows in the underwhelming tradition, but somehow is worse.
the film loosely revolves around a motivational speaker (Kelly Marie Tran) who has a dangerously itchy scalp. She also has a wet blanket of a boyfriend, and a backstory about her mother that is one of the more interesting choices the film will make. But, her past with her mother has strained her relationship with her father. this is bad, because he seems to allude to the idea that a demon is the reason for all of the nightmarish things that happen to her. If you have a fear of ants, this movie will get you.
But, it also loses me along the way, like a scene where a couple who don’t seem to be into woodworking in the least somehow have a full set of power tools in their garage. This is so it can help the plot, not because they made it make sense. She also suffers a traumatic brain injury around the halfway point, and her boyfriend is talking to the doctor about the long road she has ahead, and how half her body is currently paralyzed. in what could have made the film more interesting, the movie instead leap frogs her recovery time, getting her back into shape as quickly as possible. Why even bother with the suggestion she had a long road, if you had no interest in diving into it?
Last year, we had several horror films that amazed me. Horror isn’t my genre, and I still felt it really defined 2024, even beyond The Substance. From Nosferatu, Late Night With the Devil, Strange Darling, oddity, Smile 2, and many others, it was a much better than expected year. I ahve a feeling the genre has more in store, so it’s OK if Hulu strikes out early in the year.
Rotten: Final Grade: C-, Audio Description: A-
