“The Housemaid,” Paul Feig’s adaptation of the best-selling novel by Freida McFadden, debuted a terrifying first look at CinemaCon. The film stars Sydney Sweeney as Millie, a housemaid for a seemingly picture-perfect family. Amanda Seyfried plays her employer Nina, an emotionally erratic woman, and Brandon Sklenar as her charming husband. Things with this wealthy couple are not what they seem — a revelation that’s complicated by the fact that Millie has her own secrets she’d prefer remain hidden.
Sweeney first picked up “The Housemaid” when it topped best-seller charts and couldn’t put it down.
“I love when there’s so many unexpected twists and turns.,” Sweeney said on the CinemaCon stage during Lionsgate’s presentation. She appreciated that the characters were “messy” and “fucked up.”
Seyfried echoed her co-star’s enthusiasm for the shocks and surprises in store for audiences. “I got to go to places that I never expected to go to,” Seyfried said. “We reached places that I’ve never been able to as an actor…we created some wacky shit…the stuff that happened when the cameras were rolling was bananas.”
Based on the footage shared with theater owners, things get very insane, very quickly. There are shots of a blood-drenched Sweeney wielding an oversized kitchen knife and later biting into a sandwich with homicidal glee, as well as lots of Sklenar and Seyfried swooning about their opulent home. The couple alternates between passionate embraces and domestic tension (an ambulance shows up in their driveway, at one point, its whirring red and blue light hinting something sinister has just taken place). All of this is set to a haunting song by Nico.
“The Housemaid” is something of a departure for Feig, who became a reliable hitmaker with comedies like “Bridemaids” and “The Heat,” though he did oversee the whip-smart thrillers “A Simple Favor” and its upcoming sequel, “Another Simple Favor.”
“I love thrillers,” Feig said. “Ironically, I don’t watch much comedy.”
He said that both genres have similarities, because they rely on building up to a moment where tension is released.
Sweeney, who broke out with “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus,” has become a major movie star, appearing in hits like “Anyone but You.” Seyfried is an Oscar-nominee for “Mank” and an Emmy winner for her uncanny turn as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in “The Dropout.” Her credits include “Mamma Mia!” and “Les Misérables.” And Sklenar stars on “1923” opposite Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, and acts alongside Meghann Fahy in this spring’s “Drop.”
McFadden has gone on to write a number of “Housemaid” novels after the first one was such a popular success. Lionsgate debuted the trailer during its presentation to theater owners at CinemaCon, an exhibition industry event that’s taking place this week in Las Vegas. “The Housemaid” will open in theaters on December 25, 2025,.
“Let me just say you guys have a big hit coming,” Feig promised theater owners at CinemaCon.
That’s music to their ears.
From Variety US