Control Freak (film)

Valerie "Val" Nguyen is a successful motivational speaker who secretly struggles with a compulsive urge to scratch the back of her head. This behavior intensifies following the death of her mother, Chi, which occurred during a traumatic boating accident in Val's childhood.

As Val prepares for an international tour, she discovers she needs her birth certificate, prompting her to reconnect with her estranged family. Her Aunt Thuy directs her to her father, Sang, a former soldier turned monk, who possesses the necessary documents. Val's relationship with Sang is strained due to past traumas, including her mother's death and Sang's history of addiction.

During her visit, Sang tells her a Vietnamese folk tale about the Sanshi, a parasitic ghost that feeds on human hosts, driving them to destructive compulsions. Val dismisses the story until she uncovers old photographs of her mother with mysterious rashes, suggesting a familial curse.

As Val's compulsion worsens, she scratches an open wound into her scalp. Her husband, Robbie, discovers that she has secretly been taking birth control pills despite their plans to conceive, which causes a rift between them. Val confronts Sang, who admits to summoning the Sanshi during the Vietnam War, inadvertently passing it to Chi. He reveals that Chi attempted to drown Val as a child to prevent the Sanshi's spread, forcing Sang to kill Chi to save their daughter.

Val's condition deteriorates, culminating in a breakdown during a speaking engagement. Hospitalized, doctors discover she has scratched a hole into her skull, leading to hallucinations. Robbie brings her home to recover, but Val remains convinced of the Sanshi's presence.

In a climactic confrontation, Val attempts to exorcise the Sanshi by inflicting harm upon herself, believing it will draw out the entity. She battles a monstrous manifestation of the Sanshi and ultimately drags it into a swimming pool, attempting to drown it, as Sang once tried. Robbie rescues Val, and she emerges holding a diminished, fetal-like version of the Sanshi, symbolizing her confrontation with her inner demons.

The film concludes with Val revealing her pregnancy to Robbie. However, a subtle hint—a bug crawling on her baby suggests that the Sanshi's influence may still persist, leaving the ending ambiguous.

• Kelly Marie Tran as Valerie "Val" Nguyen{{cite web|last=Lutes |first=Alecia |title=Kelly Marie Tran Is Tormented by an Itch That Won't Quit in Trailer for Hulu's Creepy New Horror Film |url=https://movieweb.com/kelly-marie-tran-control-freak-trailer-hulu-horror/ |website=MovieWeb |date=February 27, 2025 |access-date=March 11, 2025}}{{cite web|last=London |first=Rob |title=Kelly Marie Tran to Lead Psychological Thriller 'Control Freak' |url=https://collider.com/kelly-marie-tran-miles-robbins-cast-control-freak/ |website=Collider |date=April 19, 2024 |access-date=March 11, 2025}}
• Callie Johnson as Crystal
• Miles Robbins as Robbie{{cite web|last=McGrew |first=Shannon |title=Shal Ngo & Miles Robbins on CONTROL FREAK, Body Horror, and the Terror of Losing Control |url=https://www.creepykingdom.com/post/control-freak-interview-shal-ngo-miles-robbins |website=Creepy Kingdom |date=March 11, 2025 |access-date=March 11, 2025}}
• Kieu Chinh as Thuy
• Zack Gold as Mason
• Scott Takeda as Dr. Chen
• Toan Le as Sang

In April 2024, it was reported that post-production was underway on a horror film titled Control Freak, written and directed by Shal Ngo, and starring Kelly Marie Tran, Callie Johnson, Miles Robbins, Kieu Chinh, Zack Gold, Scott Takeda, and Toan Le.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/04/kelly-marie-tran-miles-robbins-cast-hulu-film-control-freak-1235889723/|title=Kelly Marie Tran & Miles Robbins To Lead Shal Ngo's Film 'Control Freak'|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Rosy|last=Cordero|date=April 19, 2024|access-date=March 10, 2025}}

Control Freak was released on Hulu on March 13, 2025.{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/control-freak-trailer-hulu-kelly-marie-tran/|title=Kelly Marie Tran Has an Itch She Can't Scratch in 'Control Freak' Trailer|website=Collider|first=Adam|last=Blevins|date=February 27, 2025|access-date=March 10, 2025}}{{cite web|last=Omotade |first=Lade |title=Kelly Marie Tran Battles a Parasitic Demon in First 'Control Freak' Images |url=https://collider.com/control-freak-release-date-images/ |website=Collider |date=February 18, 2025 |access-date=March 11, 2025}}{{cite web|title=Kelly Marie Tran's 'Control Freak' is the Best Horror Surprise This Year |url=https://thecosmiccircus.com/kelly-marie-tran-control-freak-movie-review/ |website=Cosmic Circus |date=March 10, 2025 |access-date=March 11, 2025}}

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|68|6.0|22|consensus=|access-date=March 15, 2025|ref=y}}{{cite web|title=Control Freak (2025) RT |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/control_freak |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=March 15, 2025}} {{Metacritic film prose|62|four|ref=yes|access-date=March 15, 2025}}{{cite web|title=Control Freak (2025) |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/control-freak/ |website=Metacritic |access-date=March 15, 2025}}

Hannah Rose of CBR gave the film a rating of 6 over 10 and she said; {{Blockquote|It has some good practical effects and provides a fresh take on folk and psychological horror. However, for all its grand ideas and sincerity, Control Freak is weighed down by superfluous drama, poor pacing, and skewed priorities.{{cite web|last=Rose |first=Hannah |title=Control Freak Review: A Disturbing Psychological Horror With an Inspired Take On Mental Illness (But It's Held Back in a Big Way) |url=https://www.cbr.com/control-freak-movie-review/ |website=CBR |date=March 11, 2025 |access-date=March 11, 2025}}}}

However Joshua M. Hayes from Josh at the Movies website gave the film rating of 1 star over 5 star and wrote; {{Blockquote|An ultimately meaningless exercise in repetition, Control Freak aims to be profound but instead just manages to be an egregious genre misfire.{{cite web|last=Hayes |first=Joshua M. |title=Film Review: Control Freak |url=https://joshatthemovies.com/2025/03/10/film-review-control-freak/ |website=Josh at the Movies |date=March 10, 2025 |access-date=March 11, 2025}}}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|30789086}}

Category:2020s American films

Category:2020s English-language films

Category:2025 horror films

Category:2025 films

Category:American body horror films

Category:Hulu original films

Category:Asian-American horror films

Category:Films about Vietnamese Americans

Category:Vietnamese mythology in popular culture