A Freaky Twist On The Body Swap

Get Tickets FREAKY opens 11/13
Imagine if FRIDAY THE 13TH crossed paths with FREAKY FRIDAY – that’s the premise of Blumhouse’s latest horror-comedy FREAKY, which fittingly opens at AMC Theatres this Friday the 13th of November. In the film, seventeen-year-old Millie Kessler (played by Kathryn Newton) swaps bodies with the town’s infamous serial killer, The Butcher (played by Vince Vaughn), and has just 24 hours to get her body back before the switch becomes permanent.
For body swap stories to work convincingly, each actor must commit to playing the other – which in this case is Vaughn playing a teenage girl and Newton playing a deranged serial killer. To learn more about the preparation and approach to these dual roles, AMC had the opportunity to chat with the film’s stars.
In on our interview, both Vaughn and Newton agreed that collaboration was key in playing each other’s characters. Newton told us, “Millie is a lot like me – I’m kind of a nerd, so that hit close to home. But becoming The Butcher, I got to work with Vince on creating this character. I learned a lot from him and we went back and forth until we found it.”
Vaughn approached this role like any other, but enjoyed the exploration of not just one, but two characters. “For me the approach is the same, you really just try to approach the character and get a better understanding of their backstory and emotions, but the fun and unique part was doing it for two characters. It’s also helpful having someone who’s terrific like Kathryn to get her good ideas too – her and I clicked and had a great time during rehearsal comparing ideas and building on that.”
Those good ideas included every aspect of embodying one another, with Misha Osherovich, who plays Millie’s best friend Josh, telling us, “Vince and Kathryn were always in collaborative dialogue with each other and even practiced moving like each other.” And although it may seem more fun to watch Vince Vaughn embody a seventeen-year-old girl, Celeste O’Connor (who plays Millie’s other best friend, Nyla) feels audiences will greatly appreciate Kathryn Newton’s take on a serial killer. “Her becoming The Butcher was terrifying – I was honestly terrified of her when filming our scenes.”
While the entire cast gives it their all in this film, it doesn’t come without consequence. When asked about the freakiest day on set, Osherovich shared an unfortunate accident that happened when filming the scene where Josh first meets Millie trapped in The Butcher’s body. Watch the actor tell us the shocking story below.
Luckily there were no lasting injuries, but instead a hilarious story to commemorate their experience filming FREAKY.
Prepare yourself for a killer time at the theatre and see FREAKY on the big screen at AMC!
Get Tickets FREAKY opens 11/13