In more ways than one, Netflix‘s upcoming horror comedy movie is starting to look like the perfect Freak Friday follow-up I did not think I needed. Over the years, movies and shows of many genres have riffed on the body swap trope. It seems to create the perfect setup for a comedy-drama that follows the lives of two or more characters who are somehow forced to step inside each other’s boots and experience life from one another’s perspective. While some of these body swap stories in movies, like Your Name, have been received incredibly well, others have failed to leave their mark.
However, of all the movies and shows that adopt the trope, the one film often considered synonymous with it is Freaky Friday. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, the movie played a crucial role in popularizing the trend and highlighting its potential as a comical narrative device. Owing to this, it is not surprising that Freaky Friday is getting a sequel, titled Freakier Friday, over two decades after its release. Although there is still some time before Freaky Friday 2 hits the big screens, Netflix seems to have the perfect addition to the movie sub-genre.
It’s What’s Inside Brings A Compelling New Spin To Freaky Friday’s Body Swap Trope
The Film Expands The Scale Of The Trope
Unlike most body-swap movies, It’s What’s Inside does not merely walk through the drama that unfolds in two characters’ lives when they switch bodies. Instead, it presents a sci-fi setup where a character introduces a device to a group of college friends, claiming it can help them achieve feats beyond their wildest dreams. When the group agrees to give the device a shot, they are surprised by how it makes them swap their consciousness with one another. However, what begins as a fun experiment soon takes a wild turn when they start turning against one another with their swapped bodies.
Despite adopting the same trope as the Disney movie, however, It’s What’s Inside does not promise to be a feel-good drama.
Freaky Friday‘s use of the body swap gimmick is entertaining and heartwarming because of its familial themes. Despite adopting the same trope as the Disney movie, however, It’s What’s Inside does not promise to be a feel-good drama. Instead, it sells itself as a psychological horror film with hints of dark humor. Even its trailer adopts flashy and stylistic visuals that suggest it will use the body swap trope as a vessel to explore darker themes surrounding identity, addiction, and jealousy. Its portrayal of body-swapping will also be far more puzzling and high-concept than most offerings of the sub-genre.
It’s What’s Inside’s Early Reviews Make It Even More Exciting
The Film Has Largely Positive Reviews
Following its Sundance release on January 19, 2024, It’s What’s Inside has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 82%, with 33 reviews. Some critics have given it negative reviews, stating that its premise is too over-the-top to be remotely believable. Others have also said that the film’s aggressive style does not benefit it because it fails to make up for its lack of depth. However, most critics have praised the film for its ability to take a familiar trope and turn it into something completely novel and thrilling.
For instance, one critic (Ty Cooper via HeyUGuys) said, “There is no drug on this earth that could prepare you for the experience of a film like this.” ScreenRant’s Patrice Witherspoon also gave the film a solid four out of five stars, quoting, “A mind-bending horror feature one could easily become obsessed over, It’s What’s Inside is sure to find its cult fan base very quickly.” With so many critics lauding Greg Jardin’s execution of It’s What’s Inside‘s unique take on the body-swap trope, I look forward to seeing the film on Netflix and comparing it with Freaky Friday.
