Control Freak

Returning home from a trip, a motivational speaker in the middle of a tour finds that a seemingly benign itch on her head is spiraling out of control to the point of impacting her personal and professional life forcing her to investigate the issue's connection to her heritage to stop it.

Overall, this was a decent enough if somewhat problematic body horror effort. One of the finer points of this one comes from the solid setup that tries to provide a kind of intriguing look into the condition she suffers from. Setting this one up from the beginning as a confident, self-assured person with a full-scale career and the pressure she puts on herself to ensure that part of her is a success, the sudden influx of the irritating condition and how it starts to work its way through the body to the point where she starts to get thrown off her game because of it creates an interesting point to explore. With not just her work but professional life upended due to her husband being supportive yet confused by the situation and her parents' insistence on the cultural demonic entity from their homeland being the responsible party, there's a gradual increase in suspense and tension involving what's going on as the transformation starts to take shape leading to a strong and shocking finale. That's where the film does falter somewhat with the lack of malevolence attached to this concept. There are a few bits here involved in introducing the Vietnamese heritage as a means of explaining the condition by saying it's a manifestation of a curse affecting them for years but this is all surface-level exposition needed to give a name to the demon shown fleetingly. By giving more focus to the loss of control she has as the itch becomes more present and dominating the sense of control she has, it offers a more psychological touch that doesn't delve deeper into the situation than these few factors as the result comes across more like a short film stretched out into a feature-length adaptation. This is aided along by a bit of a misguided idea of trying to imply the creature itself is a manifestation of her psyche getting exposed questionably so the question of it being real or not is brought up merely to eat up screentime, but it still comes off well enough to be worthwhile.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language and Graphic Violence.

I found that a greatest disservice an author can make to a struggling protagonist, whose struggle is amplified through horror is juxtaposing them against a backdrop of supportive sound boards. Sometimes it's necessary. However, here I see some interesting symbolism and it simply falls short in that backdrop. She comes across as one-dimensional, her partner is an idealized portrayal of a person incapable of suffering or harm, and her ignoring her assistant or a doctor considering the severity of her state comes across as forced. Portrayal disregards complexities women face and appears as a writer's limited understanding of their character. I do prefer horror with social commentary and I am not feeling that here.

It is really hard to make a horror movie of this quality. Kudos to the director and especially the crew.

It is a suspense / horror movie like no other I have seen in the last 5 years.

I really liked the back and forth between the core story and the history that brought this movie together. My thought at first looking at this was = "another cheap movie and that I would disconnect within 20 minutes of watching it". To my surprise, I was hooked from the get-go. I sincerely think that if you give your concentration and the thoughts behind it, you should truly appreciate this movie.

If you are of sound mind and really put your heart in it, you will understand the wisdom and effort that were put in the script. I will recommend it without hesitations.

This film crawled under my skin in ways I didn't expect. Control Freak follows Val, a self-help guru grappling with anxiety and grief after her mother's death. Her anxiety manifests as a disturbing compulsion to scratch her scalp, which becomes more than just a nervous habit. There's something living beneath the surface, and it's horrifying. The way the movie uses the parasite as a metaphor for mental illness was powerful. I found myself squirming through the intense scenes, especially as Val's sense of reality began to deteriorate. The practical monster effects and eerie sound design made every scratch feel almost physical. What really got me was how real the emotional horror felt. It's not just about the creepy parasite; it's about how untreated trauma can consume us from within. It's unsettling, raw, and lingers long after the credits roll.

Even though the cover of Control Freak looks like a cheap SYFY movie, I was intrigued because it was tagged as body horror, and the ambiguous description gave me hope that it would be something special. The film's low ratings prepared me to lower my expectations, but I gave it a try nonetheless.

The story follows Valerie, a successful motivational speaker who becomes tormented by an unrelenting itch on the back of her head, causing her life to spiral out of control.

Visually, the movie is well-made, with strong cinematography and decent performances, though the acting felt uneven at times. Unfortunately, the story itself falls flat over its 100-minute runtime. Control Freak is apparently based on a short film, which I haven't seen, but I imagine the concept worked much better in a shorter format. The premise-where a protagonist is tormented by something unknown, leaving the audience to wonder whether it's psychological or supernatural-isn't exactly new. The only unique angle here is that the lead is a motivational speaker, which fits well with the movie's overarching metaphor.

The film did succeed in making me feel itchy and uncomfortable, especially with Valerie's constant scratching and the unsettling imagery of ants crawling around. I also genuinely enjoyed the third act, though the movie never really built up enough momentum for me to stay fully invested in Valerie's struggle.

If you have Hulu or another streaming service where you can watch this without paying extra, it might be worth a try. However, I wouldn't recommend spending money on it, as it doesn't offer enough to stand out. The pacing drags, and the narrative lacks originality, but it remains a watchable film with both its strengths and flaws. [5,4/10]