Freak Off (2025): A Swing and a Miss at Timely Commentary

I’ll give Breaking Glass Pictures credit where it’s due; they struck while the iron was hot with that title. “Freak Off” captures the zeitgeist of current headlines surrounding certain hip-hop moguls, and honestly, kudos for getting there first with the provocative branding. The casting department also deserves recognition for finding look-alikes that genuinely hold merit; Burchell’s resemblance to the inspiration from certain angles is uncanny, and Alexandra Sanchez as Crystal channels the right energy with strategic lighting and shadows.

But that’s where my generosity ends, because everything else about this 74-minute attempt at industry exposé feels like watching someone fumble a layup.

When Exploitation Commentary Feels Exploitative

The film jumps straight into middle-rate acting with a cast of relative unknowns tackling what should be explosive material. Demirci’s Ava meets Renzo (Lorenzo, because subtlety is dead) at a party, and we’re immediately thrust into vapid club anthem territory. The Cassie-inspired Crystal character bristles at Renzo’s new project while she has “ideas”. However, whether Sanchez actually sings that forgettable club track or if it’s AI-generated remains a mystery that frankly doesn’t matter.

From the jump, Renzo’s an ass. There’s a hint of domestic violence right out of the gate, for “tone,” while the camera awkwardly cuts between red-drenched recording studio sex scenes and Ava’s crew preparation montages. It’s tonally jarring in the worst way, like someone editing a music video while simultaneously trying to craft a serious drama about abuse.

The Atmosphere That Never Materializes

Here’s the fundamental problem: this film has no momentum. The atmosphere isn’t cool enough, it’s flat when it should be electric, hollow when it should be haunting. I wasn’t expecting Boogie Nights-level sophistication, but given the trial-by-TikTok cultural moment we’re living through, there were clearly script limitations that neutered any real bite.

Renzo coerces Ava to drop her crew with stardom dangled like a carrot, and she does so immediately. Despite her crew facilitating the introduction and constantly dissing “Lorenzo,” there’s no emotional weight to her betrayal. No background, no character development, no push to justify the dramatic stakes we’re supposed to feel invested in.

Predatory Patterns Without Narrative Purpose

The exploitation arrives predictably fast. As soon as Ava mentions wanting to “focus” on her career, Renzo makes his moves. But somehow she rises to stardom “two seconds later”, which begs the question of what we’re even watching unfold here. When Crystal threatens to expose his “operations” because he made Ava a star instead of her, we cut to Ava sitting alone at a restaurant table. If she can’t afford better than Applebee’s ambiance, exactly how famous are we talking?

The drugging scene at a party where Renzo scouts his next victim plays out with all the sophistication of a Lifetime movie. One drink knocks out both Ava and her friend Lila; they wake up in bed together, Ava naked, Lila half-dressed, neither remembering anything. Yet Ava still defends him:

There were so many people at that party. It could have been literally anybody.”

This isn’t dramatic irony; it’s lazy writing masquerading as psychological complexity.

Watch Freak Off Film Trailer

Empowerment Theater Gone Wrong

The film’s biggest sin isn’t its budget constraints or unknown cast; it’s the misguided attempt at empowerment theater. After Renzo records their assault and threatens Ava with the footage, she tracks him down, kicks him “in the diddys” (yes, really), and we get a gratuitous white towel hotel scene that serves no narrative purpose. Unless you like censored sex scenes.

Are filmmakers trying to make this some kind of empowering exercise? The record label dumps her, then offers to buy her songs and give them to the woman Renzo hooked up with next. This leads to an interminable creative process montage for her new song about “snakes and venom” and “not losing your light.” She also turns them down and says she is keeping her songs, too.

Ugh.

A Story Told by Someone Who Missed the Point

This feels like trauma processed through a middle-grade understanding of abuse dynamics. It glosses over the perpetrator’s downfall while Ava chirpily declares,

“Don’t let anyone dim your shine”

and

“You don’t need a powerful man.”

Quote from Freak Off 2025 (Film)

The film ends with all the depth of a motivational Instagram post, completely missing the systemic nature of the industry it’s attempting to critique. The word “freak off” never appears in the actual film, which feels symbolic of how disconnected this project is from its own controversial marketing. Beyond a pat on the back for unearthing look-alike casting that probably took genuine effort, this ain’t it.

Verdict: While the cultural timing and casting choices show promise, Freak Off lacks the narrative bones, thematic coherence, and tonal consistency needed to tackle its weighty subject matter. It’s tonally muted, mismatched, and heartless, despite being packed with forgettable songs played in their entirety.

Freak Off is rated

1 Snake that should have kept its venom to itself out of 5

Film Details:

• Director: Ricky Burchell
• Cast: Alya Demirci (Ava), Alexandra Sanchez (Crystal), Ricky Burchell (Renzo/Lorenzo)
• Genre: Drama, Music
• Runtime: 74 minutes
• Production Company: Breaking Glass Pictures
• Streaming: Amazon Prime Video
• If you want more films that home in on fame, watch I’m an Electric Lampshade | Silent Night Fatal Night