Control Freak (2025) - Film Review

      Control Freak, 2025.

      Written and Directed by Shal Ngo.

      Featuring Kelly Marie Tran, Miles Robbins, Toan Le, Kieu Chinh, Callie Johnson, Zack Gold, Scott Takeda, Chelsea Parsons, Samantha Coppola, Nova Mai Murillo, and Stanley White Jr.

      SYNOPSIS:

      A motivational speaker, suffering from an uncontrollable itch on her head, becomes afflicted by a parasitic demon from her homeland.

      Kelly Marie Tran's Val transforms her previously traumatic life by taking control and achieving her goals. Now a renowned motivational speaker and life coach, she shares her insights and keys to success. However, she is constantly bothered by an intense itch on her scalp, which is soon revealed to be the result of a parasitic Sinosphere demon attached to her. As her scratching becomes excessive and results in a serious injury that she feels compelled to hide, the film raises the question of who is truly in control of Val psychologically.

      The premise is intriguing with rich mythology to delve into, but Shal Ngo struggles to effectively harness the psychological horror aspect. In addition to the standard eye-rolling hallucinatory dream sequences (including confusing dreams within dreams), Val's personal life is complicated by estranged family members and a romantic interest, each facing their own dramatic issues. These surrounding subplots begin to overshadow the supernatural focus while also becoming distracting. Similar to the uninspired dream sequences, it merely encourages viewers to question what is real and what isn’t, diminishing the narrative's uniqueness.

      Val’s mother died in an unclear underwater incident witnessed by her father Sang (Toan Le), leading Val to blame him, especially after he turned to drug addiction. Currently, he is a monk, a profession Val questions his suitability for. Nevertheless, her need for a birth certificate to take her motivational speaking tour to China brings her back into his life, prompting her to re-examine her mother’s death and any lingering buried trauma. Meanwhile, Val and her partner, Robbie (Miles Robbins), are trying to conceive, but her desire for control over many aspects of their lives increasingly clashes with her intensifying itch.

      It is unfortunate that Control Freak quickly falls into predictable territory, even as the visual and sound design effectively convey Val’s itching as a genuinely unsettling physical obsession. The experience is painfully vivid to observe and hear. The intensity grows once she has created an actual hole in her head. Additionally, the demon is depicted as a taller, more anthropomorphic version of a Xenomorph, complete with long, slender, claw-like fingers.

      In blunt terms, about 80 minutes of the film engage in the wrong type of psychological games. Some improvement occurs in the finale, which subverts Val’s motivational speaking clips and soundbites, ultimately exploring the themes of control and whether she has ever truly possessed it or merely kept something dangerous at bay.

      Control Freak feels too chaotic and trope-heavy, ironically showing that Shal Ngo lacks a clear grasp on how to approach this chilling concept. Nonetheless, Kelly Marie Tran gives a remarkable and fully committed performance, offering a captivating presence, particularly as her psychological unraveling intensifies while she pushes herself to confront the demon.

      Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

      Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He serves as the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd.