Vince Vaughn Loves The ‘Surprising’ Way Freaky Tackles Bullying
You might not expect a horror film where Vince Vaughn plays a serial killer known as the Blissfield Butcher to make relevant social commentary on bullying. But because Christopher Landon’s Freaky is also a body-swap film that switches the killer with a teenager girl (Kathryn Newton), the script is able to comment numerous times on the archaic practice of bullying, and its prevalence in contemporary high school.
For his part, Vince Vaughn is thrilled that Freaky is tackling his issue. The Old School and Dodgeball star stopped by our ReelBlend podcast to break down his role in Freaky, and opened up about the themes that he saw in the project, and why they were important to him. Vaughn told us:
Before the body swap takes place, Kathryn Newton plays Millie as a bookish, quiet and reserved teenager who is the school mascot because it allows her to hide in the costume of a massive beaver. But once the Butcher takes over her body, Freaky gives Millie the strength to push back against the people who are doing her wrong. Vince Vaughn didn’t say that he was bullied growing up, but he spoke on the topic and really connected with the ways that bullying can make one feel like less than the norm. Vaughn said:
Want to hear the full conversation with Vince Vaughn on ReelBlend? Press play, because he discusses Freaky, Wedding Crashers 2, 25 years of Swingers, and so much more.
You can see Freaky now, as the body-swapping horror comedy is playing in select theaters.
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Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.