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Over the years there have been many films that like to take everyday mundane things and turn them into something awful. In Christine you have a car that becomes a vessel for evil, in Cujo you have the family dog… that becomes a vessel for evil, the list goes on and on. Of course both of those are Stephen King references but let’s face it, he is the master of turning every day occurrences into terrifying things or situations. In Control Freak (the film by Shal Ngo), the catalyst for the story, so it seems at first, is dry scalp. Now I know what you’re thinking, “how is dry scalp an evil and terrifying thing?” Well, let me tell you, it didn’t start out that way but as the film goes on, the problem becomes worse and worse, eventually drawing blood. Eventually drawing out something evil that may or may not have been there all along. A terrible monster straight out of my nightmares at least.
source: Hulu
Written and directed by Shal Ngo, Control freak is the story of an influencer named Valerie (played by Kelly Marie Tran) who is on the verge of super stardom. When Valerie develops an itch that no amount of scratching seems to satisfy, things begin to go worse and worse for her. Her husband (played by Miles Robbins) only wants to help her but has a hard time understanding just what exactly is going on with Valerie. As her condition continues to worsen she seeks the help of her father (Toan Le) now a monk living a clean life, or so he says, after supposedly kicking a pretty bad drug habit brought on by years of trauma. Valerie begins to wonder if what is happening to her is all in her head or maybe something more, something her father dealt with, something much worse and darker. Perhaps a demon of some sort, trying to work its way out through the hole she is slowly digging into her head.
The Power Is In You
Valerie (Tran) is an influencer that helps people take control of their lives and has coached many people to make positive changes all the while slowly losing control of herself. Tran absolutely kills it in this role, forcing us effortlessly to wonder if what is happening is all in her head or if there is something more at play. She flips from completely in control to ready to give up and back again with ease. Her final scenes are the things horror dreams are made of and her performance is incredible. You have to see this ending. On the flip side, her father (Le) is obviously fighting his own demons and his performance is perfect, a man who just wanted to get his life together but the trauma and possible demons of his past still have a hold on him. His struggle is real and very apparent. It was amazing.
source: Hulu
On the page and behind the camera, Shal Ngo did an incredible job. The script was clearly carefully thought out and layered as to not give away anything too early and the way the film was shot, the build of the suspense leading to the reveal was never boring. That is a struggle for a lot of filmmakers it seems, the quest to find suspense leads to horrible boredom. Here the story never drags and the camera work is always exciting. The tale unfolds just as it should and that final third of the movie is incredibly satisfying because of that careful building. The music fit perfectly with the story being told and the cinematography was absolutely gorgeous to look at. The framing of shots were paintings on their own, they just happened to be moving like a photo album in a wizards house. From top to bottom, this movie impressed. Really a masterclass in storytelling.
Just Let It All Out
Overall I really enjoyed this movie. It was a slow burn in style of many Japanese horror films I’ve encountered over the years like The Ring and The Grudge. Much like those films, it did enough during that slow burn to keep me interested and not dread the fact that it was going nowhere. The story was always going forward and evolving. It used to be that Netflix was the streaming stop for in-house made horror but Lately, Hulu has thrown their hat in the ring, churning out (to me anyway) one hit after another. It doesn’t hold back and seems to really want to tell interesting and original stories for a genre that at times can seem really repetitive. There was nothing too familiar here, and I mean that in the best of ways.
Control Freak was a film that started out as maybe a little bit of body horror mixed with a tale of personal anxiety and self doubt that over the course of its runtime morphed into a gory, demon possession film that still left you wondering if any of it was happening or not… until you knew for sure. It was something that was completely off my radar until I saw an online ad for it saying that it was releasing, and it being horror, of course I had to check it out. If you like movies that keep adding to the mystery until they are ready to reveal everything, all the while keeping it interesting and creepy (and fairly bloody, I won’t lie) then this is a movie you need to check out. You don’t even have to leave your house, Control Freak is streaming on Hulu now. So grab a bucket of popcorn and prepare to be entertained. This one will sit with you for a bit.
Control Freak is streaming on Hulu.
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