Control Freak Review: Body Horror that goes an unexpected route

PLOT: A motivational speaker is tormented by an unrelenting itch on the back of her head.

REVIEW: Body horror is all the rage right now and thankfully, with so many films being released every year, some are able to capitalize on the trend. I’ve been of several of the Hulu Horror ventures like The Mill and Mr. Crocket, so I’m excited to see another release from them. And the fact that it’s body horror is all the more intriguing. Because there are always plenty of different avenues to take a film that relies on making your skin crawl. Control Freak combines the metaphorical with a real life monster to give us a very unique experience.

Control Freak follows motivational speaker Val, as she finds herself being tormented by an itch on her head that won’t go away. With a complicated family history, she has to look into her past in order to solve the problem. Her husband, Robbie, really wants a kid, but she’s not willing to commit to that decision yet. Like many self help professionals, Val spouts all of this stuff about finding her true self. In doing so, she tries to avoid her own family history, thus avoiding her true self. It gives her an interesting obstacle to overcome but it all feels so self-inflicted. But this is really a performance movie.

There’s something about Kelly Marie Tran’s performance that feels a bit uneven at first. I really liked her more thoughtful and investigative side but her motivational speaking lacks in truth. She sounds a bit awkward and robotic in those instances. If it was a choice, it didn’t work for me and clashes with her believability. Thankfully, that’s really just the beginning and she settles nicely into the role. She’s great when it’s all about her descent into madness. I’ve been a fan of Miles Robbins since Halloween (2018) and Daniel Isn’t Real so it’s nice to see him pop up here. He’s often cast a supportive partner, as is the case here, and he pairs well with Tran.

We rarely see ants get such a prominent placement in horror. It’s often spiders that get to have all the fun but Control Freak proves that ants are just as deserving of a spot in the creepy crawly cinema hall of fame. We get plenty of glimpses of the insects throughout, and they’re sure to get your skin crawling. But, despite what the poster may make you think, they’re really just a conduit for something else. The FX work ranges from hokey to quite impressive. I wasn’t a fan when the monster was in its more “ant-like” state as it looked a bit corny. But I liked it once it started to just be this long-limbed, dark creature. I won’t deny its weirdness, but it worked for me.

They hit multiple horror tropes like the “wake up from a dream multiple times” schtick, which feels so damn tired by this point. But it never gets too out of hand with checking boxes. If anything, I was impressed with how writer/director Shal Ngo pulled off the climax. Even if it was a bit choreographed, that didn’t diminish the overall impact of the message. Every time I thought the film may just be going too far in one direction, it reels itself in. Though, speaking of reels, there’s this crazy device that reels a person’s arms in and locks them in place as they sleep. I’m hoping that this isn’t a real device as even the idea of it gave me anxiety.

Control Freak doesn’t break any new ground narratively, but it showcases wonderful performances from its burgeoning cast and boasts some fantastic visuals. I like a dose of weird with my body horror and while it doesn’t go too crazy, it does go far enough that I’m sure it’ll lose some more pedestrian viewers. While it has some missteps, I liked the journey of Control Freak. What seems like a story about internal struggle erupts into a monster movie with some truly unsettling moments.

CONTROL FREAK RELEASES TO HULU ON MARCH 14TH, 2025.

Control Freak Review: Body Horror that goes an unexpected route

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